Safely Home

For a work of fiction to be good, it is assumed that the storyline be engaging, the writing articulate, the plot imaginative (yet believable), the ending unpredictable, and the underlying message wholesome if not downright inspiring. (No wonder would-be authors commonly face hours of writer’s block. . .that is quite a bit of pressure!)


Safely Home delivers on all of these. And if this were not enough, it includes a depth of theological richness that borders on the profound, as well as a challenging undercurrent that bids the honest reader to take stock of his own commitment to Christ. Sound too good to be true? Pick it up and read for yourself.

The story is set in contemporary America but crosses over into China and the persecuted Church through the interaction of two college buddies. Interspersed within the developing and often dramatic storyline is the wrestling of an agnostic’s questions of God and his dispersal of providence, the place of suffering and persecution in both continents, and the role that the supernatural (both God and his angels as well as Satan and his followers) plays in our everyday lives, albeit completely unseen.

The reader must remind himself this is a work of fiction; the creative descriptions of heavenly communication between God and the Archangel Michael, for instance, are so plausible one could begin forming his views of angelology and/or eschatology based on the portrayal found here. The poignant speculations of how God communicates his love for humanity even within the heavenly realm are so comforting one could easily equate these colorful imaginations with biblical truth. But even this “caution” is a tribute to the writing; it is so true to Scripture’s view of the goodness of God. It is so believable.

Most deeply the book confronts the reader, leaving one naggingly uncomfortable with status quo Christianity and the trifling “sufferings” that contemporary Americans face in relationship to their faith. The subtle, yet powerful statements about God’s hand in all things, his love in the midst of human suffering, and his transcendence which renders it ludicrous that he should have to “answer” to humanity regarding his ways leave one alternately challenged, rebuked and encouraged. The author masterfully teaches a theology lesson (or several) through the unfolding events of the characters and their individual journeys of doubt, faith, trust and perseverance.

Whether one is a voracious reader, too busy for fiction, inclined more to non-fiction or just not a “book person”, this book is worth setting aside your objections and picking up. You’ll not be unconvinced for very long. Its story will draw you in, and its difficult truth will hit where the writer intended it to hit: (safely) home.