The Amazon product page is an interesting place for a book author. It can also be idolatrous because you can see a number there that ranks your work in relation to all the others Amazon sells. And if you’re an author, like me, who is sinful and prideful, like me, you tend to visit that page alot.
Alot.
But I read a recent review of Wednesdays Were Pretty Normal there this week that gave me pause, since it started out with these words:
“As a non-Christian…”
The book is written from the perspective of faith. It is not an apologetic work, one meant to convince others of the reality of God, but one meant to view suffering from the lens of faith. And yet here is a review from a non-Christian, reading these words, written from an entirely different perspective from his or her own. The name was listed only as “reviewer.” And here’s how it went:
“As a non-Christian, I’m curious how Christians deal with tragedy as the author has. His pain was descriptive and real. Loving God and having God’s love seem to keep him grounded and be able to withstand the pain that he and his son are going through. Interesting read.”
I’ve read it several times now. I don’t know if it came from Kansas or Florida or Puerto Rico. But it came from someone. From somewhere.
This morning, I’m grateful for whoever this person is, this single reader, who picked up the book and read about our story. And I wondered if you might join me in praying for “reviewer” this morning. Pain is one of those things that is non-discriminatory. It knows no distinction between black or white, rich or poor.
And yet pain can be the doorway to intimacy with Jesus.
So I’m praying for “reviewer”, that for whatever reason he or she happen to find him or herself reading a book about pain and God, about faith and doubt, written from the perspective of the Christian, he or she might find that there is hope.
And a God who, in so much as we might seek Him, is already seeking us.
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Praying.
Praying for “Reviewer.” Very intriguing how she/he might have come to pick up the book and then be moved in this way.