It’s certainly tempting in life to look back in regret at the many opportunities lost and to wish for a second chance to better align our lives with what we think is best for us. After all, has anyone with a faith in God not wrestled with the confusion that sometimes lines the paths God places us on? Being raised the son of a preacher man, as I was, provides no scaffold to popularity but it does bring to light who you are and who you belong to at a young age, something I value now more than ever.
Although growing older seems to bring few benefits with it, it is my experience that time allows for a clearer picture of why God withholds from answering some prayers, often allowing his people to go through struggles that at times come close to breaking us. It also becomes clearer that a “No,” from God has at times served as protection from a life leading far from him. But what has this got to do with writing a book?
A good Christian book in my opinion comes from wisdom that is built on life experience, filtered through the lens of Christ. Ultimately this experience involves an intertwining of personal experience and the wealth of wisdom found in the writings of great thinkers from the past and present. As an author I need to know if my thoughts can be trusted and supported by those who have spent lifetimes uncovering the truth of Christ as revealed throughout the Scriptures.
In setting out to write Beyond the Fish Sticker I was determined to keep one common thread throughout the book: Truth. While I planned to build a book that drew upon many personal thoughts and connections from my own life, my goal was to always draw the reader back to ultimate, objective truth, that which so much of humanity has tried to execute under the knife of subjective truth, the truth that is found exclusively in Christ, the truth that sets people free. As Malcom Muggeridge once suggested, “It is truth that died, not God.” If I were to try and write a book, it must play its part in reintroducing this life-giving truth, one that is very much alive, to the hearts and minds of its readers.
My Purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:2-3)
Beyond the Fish Sticker is a journey that crosses paths with many different areas of life including music, film, science, philosophy, psychology and theology. Why? Because these are the areas of life that have shaped who I am. God speaks to us in amazingly diverse ways. Beyond the Fish Sticker is a pocket-rocket of a book that can be found taking up small amounts of real-estate in the Christian Worldview, Apologetics or Philosophy sections of book stores worldwide. If you are interested in reading more click on the link below.
For those who decide to have a read, I hope you enjoy the journey.
Ben Swift.
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