Aside from the Bible, I don't recall being truly haunted by a story until Les Miserables, written by Victor Hugo in 1862, adapted to a stage musical in 1980, and most recently filmed for the screen in 2012. I was so fascinated by the movie that I am listening to the audio book. Considering the original book is 1500 pages long (22 discs,) I chose the abridged version, which is still 11 discs. My friend told me that Hugo devoted 60 pages to describing the Paris sewer system among other digressions. I'm happily enjoying the abridged version.
Les Miserables is a story about all manner of love and hate, of national war and inner conflict, of anger and joy, wealth and debt, and ultimately of redemption, and I mean REDEMPTION. It dovetails perfectly with the gospel of Christ. The story is an epic interplay between justice and mercy, between law and grace, respresented by its two main characters: Jean Valjean and Javert.
Christ implores us to go beyond justice to mercy. He calls us to love our enemies, to care for the poor and free the oppressed. Jean Valjean, trying to escape his criminal past, converts to Christianity in both heart and philanthropic deed, but cannot escape the hunt of Inspector Javert, who is convinced he is doing God's work in seeing that justice is wrought and Valjean is returned to prison.
Our whole family is enamored with the story and has had many discussions about its themes. The 9 year old has only listened to the soundtrack as I explained the story, but the rest of us have watched the movie at least once. The conversations matter. Though we are not criminals and police, we are lawbreakers and judges. Everyday, we break God's law. Everyday we make judgments about right and wrong and which path to choose. Everyday we express or withhold love and mercy and grace. Everyday we receive those things from Christ.
We debate if Javert is bad or if he is just doing his job. We debate if Valjean is good since his whole identity is a lie and he is always running from the law. We discuss how the brokenness of the world sadly relegates people to class division and helplessness and how revolution can be so hard and heartbreaking.
There are parts of the movie that are difficult to watch...rape, prostitution, war, death. But if you sanitize the story, there is no great redemption, only another opportunity for the good Christian to live with his head in the sand. These sins are not glamorized, as Hollywood often likes to do, but are treated as the disgusting and awful things that they are. That is how I want my children exposed to these transgressions...by my side, in the context of Biblical worldview and gentle guidance, with a backdrop of some of the most beautiful and haunting melodies I've ever heard.
This story takes place 200 years ago in a foreign country with a political and social structure that is far removed from us. But it is ultimately universal in spirit and truth and I highly recommend it as Christian edification. And if you come to our house, I can just about guarantee that one of us is going to break out in a chorus of "Do You Hear the People Sing!" Just go with it.
In a few hours, a group of high schoolers will gather in my living room to discuss our latest literature selection, Lord Foulgrin's Letters by Randy Alcorn. It's a haunting, convicting story of a senior demon writing letters to a junior demon instructing him in the ways of demons, as the story of Jordan Fletcher, a modern husband and father, unfolds. It is an updated version of C.S. Lewis's famous Screwtape Letters. This book has given me much needed insight into the spiritual realm and its implications on my world.
What is even more fascinating is Randy Alcorn's story. As a pastor in Oregon, he became involved in pro-life protests, got arrested, got sued, and lost. The judgement was a lifetime of garnished wages, which would go directly to the abortion clinic. If he ever made more than minimum wage, funds would be garnished.
What a test! After much wrestling and prayer for wisdom, he resigned from his church and started a non-profit called Eternal Perspectives Ministries. He began to write and now has over 40 fiction and non-fiction published books. He is paid minimum wage and his wife is paid a secretary's salary. They live a very frugal, generous life, but would say emphatically that what they have lost in worldly material, they have gained in spiritual fruit.
Why did I choose this book? First, when biblical truths are written in the form of a fictional story, the heart and imagination can be deeply stirred. I remember the first time I read the book, I realized I had not understood or legitimized an important aspect of my Christian faith: the co-existing spiritual world of angels and demons, referenced over 130 times in the Bible. As Alcorn puts it: know God, know yourself, know your enemy.
Secondly, I like when the author has his own interesting story. If Alcorn had not encountered the crucible of his faith, he would not have become a prolific writer. He might have been a great pastor to his tribe in Oregon, but he would not have had the time to write 40 books. God does not always give us the easy route to our calling.
I look forward to hearing what the kids think about this story and the author's background. How many of them will live out their lives with Alcorn's sacrifice and zeal? How will their faith be informed by the protagonist and antagonist of the book? How will I move into the future with the wisdom I have gleaned from this man and his story?
Oh, and afterwards, we're making pizza, and one of the girls is bringing devil's food cake for dessert. Or is it angel food cake?
I LOVE BOOKS! AND TEENAGERS!
There is was. In black and white with the little bitty numbers on the onion skin paper. God knocking me over the head. Again.
"Break up your unplowed ground."
I mean Jeremiah had a ton to say this morning about evil and sin and mocking God. He would never have been voted president by shaking his finger at the camera and saying, "America, you have grown fat and sleek, and your evil deeds have no limits." Jer 5:27-28, minus "America."
Eyeroll. Change the channel. Ah, there, a rerun of Friends.
But when you open the Bible with the attitude that God IS going to tell you something you NEED to hear, and that the message with supercede time and culture, then you can see truth bleeding all over the page and into the present age. Into your life.
"Break up your unplowed ground."
OK, where am I hard, dense, packed down, trampled on, thorny, bristly, apathetic?
The sharp blade severs the soil, cutting all those weedy roots woven like a tiny prison, turning up fresh loam, loosening what was tight like a gag. But only because I consent. Because I'm tired of claiming only the comfy parts of the Bible like blessing and unconditional love and grace, thinking I can write my songs, and homeschool my children, and make my home a haven, and serve when it is convenient.
David Platt in Radical and Jen Hatmaker in Seven and Katie Davis in Kisses from Katie point out my unplowed ground. What am I doing? What am I planting? Why is this faith of mine so easy? What is the point of all this accumulated stuff? Where shall I go? How messy shall I get? How much shall I spend?
How bright might I shine?
How much might grow?
If you have read A Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, you will understand what I mean about giving "hard thanks."
She elaborates on the word eucharisteo, which refers to the painstaking gratitude Christ displayed when at his last supper, he broke the bread and gave thanks, knowing in his bones that he would soon die a slow and painful death. This incredible book inspired me to put the Greek word on my wall as a reminder of how to live.
I've been thinking about stories old and new of people who have learned the art of eucharisteo, this life-filling gratitude. I think of Corrie Ten Boom engaging in eucharisteo over moldy bread in a Nazi concentration camp and how it led to reconciliation with Nazi prison guards. Every missionary book we have read over the years has told a story of struggle mingled with thanksgiving.
Gratitude rescues us.
In the past few weeks, I have been drawn into multiple stories of people in my own circle of life with heavy burdens, painful surprises, longsuffering...broken bones, broken spirits, car accidents, husbands struggling with lust, children struggling with the world, chronic illness, confusion about God, bankruptcy, long health recoveries, suicide, death.
So much grappling with pain and disappointment and dreams deferred. I pray for these precious souls. I wait and see if they will claw their way toward eucharisteo. It can be a long, bleeding fight out of the pit of despair to the communion table, but those who find their way are blessed beyond measure.
I have done it several times in my life. Given the hard thanks for the worst of things. I can attest to this:
The overpowering grace of God trumps the pain of the fall every time. It's what keeps me coming back to the table again and again.
"In this world you will have troubles, but I have overcome the world!" John 16:33
