“Because this is your life, Clay: fleeting, ephemeral and insignificant except for one thing, that El loved you. And you have missed it. Missed it all, completely. And now, look at you, Sweating, worried about your life, your story. Did you expect to live forever? Did you not think that this day would come, if not in this way then in some other? I’ve done you a favor!”
“…soon – there will be at least one of El’s precious clay humans more damned to hell than I!”
The words of the demon seared my heart and left me breathless. I want to weep for the souls who do not know Christ. I feel keenly the shame of not telling the Truth to every other soul I encounter. What began as a book in my mailbox with a cover that made me uncomfortable has left me feeling more aware of God’s presence in my life and my responsibility toward that precious gift than any story I’ve read in a very long time.
This story made me realize that the cares of this world will silence my testimony for Christ as certainly as physically removing my ability to communicate any sound at all. I KNOW that silencing the truth is a victory in the war between Satan’s Legion and the souls that Christ has saved through his death on the cross as well as those who do not yet know Him in the pardon of sin - my own children. How could I possibly allow such a dark victory to be won in my own life? I KNOW I am a child of the King. I call Him Saviour and Father, Friend and Lord….yet I have so often been silent. I have not spoken or written down the things most dear to my heart and most true in my life out of fear…fear of what? Judgement? Criticism? Rejection? Can I even name this fear that has so completely silenced the truth in my own life?
Clay – the primary character. His very name encapsulates the form of every human that has come from the hand of God. I didn’t pick up on this until about half-way through the story, but when the demon calls his name; “CLAY!” it almost jumped off the page at me. Then I began to see how closely he came to knowing God’s truth…how God placed people in his life to pray for him and witness to him…and he kept missing it. Blind to the truth. But for the grace of God, we would all stumble through this ephemeral existence blind and eternally damned.
Yet CHRIST!! Calvary! The Resurrection! It is ours! It makes us a new creature, in His image! What promise! What hope! What light we have to share with the world!!
This book speaks powerfully to those who know Christ. I imagine if it were prayerfully given to an unbeliever it could serve as a powerful witnessing tool as well. The title put me off, yet the eeriness of the first few chapters clung to me even in my dreams. I haven’t read such a powerful book in a very long time, and I eagerly await anything else Tosca Lee has to offer! I can only say: “A-MEN!”
Father, forgive me! Give me the words to say and speak so that Your precious, life-giving truth will radiate from my life like a bright beacon in this very, very dark world. May I go through the rest of my life knowing what is real and lasting and what is temporal and vain. Thank you, Father for Tosca Lee and her faithfulness to write such a powerful story. Thank you for allowing me to read it. Give me the strength and wisdom to find my own voice and the courage to tell Your Truth to every other person you ever bring into my life.
Wonderful review. Thanks for inspiring me to finish reading this book.
ReplyDeleteYou've left me in tears. I am so grateful and humbled.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read this yet, but I've heard wonderful things. Thanks for adding to the comments that will spur me on to read it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving such a nice note.