Guest Post by Marshalee Patterson!

This is a Guest Post by Marshalee Patterson author of 
The Path of the Chosen Warriors! 

And no, you're not seeing double, ;) I think it's so good it needed to be posted twice! :)

Just in case anyone missed it in the longer post! 

Happy Readings ~ASC

Guest Post

What is the purpose of writing?

Why do Christians, pretend, or want to pretend, that they are perfect? How will we have the unsaved come to Christ if we present ourselves as a body that never makes mistakes? Maybe my questions have you a bit confused, but here is the reason for these questions and at the end of this post I hope you will share your own thoughts.

In this book- The Path of the Chosen Warriors, the two main characters Joshua and Ruth discovered they were meant for each other when Ruth came home after years of studying abroad. I wrote a scene showing the effect of them missing each other, as they sat at the pool and began to kiss. Somehow Joshua’s lips left Ruth’s lips in the heat of the moment and found its way down to the top of your breast (no she wasn’t naked, she was in a swimsuit), Ruth, however, stopped Joshua reminding him why they couldn’t.

The funny thing though, one person read the book and called that scene questionable or out of place for Christians, and missed the whole purpose of why it was added, to begin with. You see, I wanted to show readers that Christians are not perfect; that we face and experience the same temptations like the unsaved. I wanted readers to see that everyone experiences sexual temptations, even though Christians seem to be afraid to talk about such things.

For me, writing isn’t just to entertain readers, God called me to deliver readers out of struggles, and show them how through my characters. But how can I help someone going through something similar if I am ashamed to mention something of a sexual nature because we are scared to talk about it? If the Songs of Solomon can mention the word breasts, why should it be a bad thing to add it to your book if you want to get a point across? There is a difference between erotica and mentioning a bit about the body in regards to sex if you want to get a point across to readers. After all, how can someone relate to your characters if you paint them as perfect all the time?

Too many times people are going through stuff that they are ashamed of and because Christians always let the world, see them as perfect, the world can’t come to them without feeling judged. Even some Christians are scared or maybe ashamed to approach another because of that. Jesus said none is perfect- All have come short of the glory of God.

One thing I have learnt since The Lord called me to write is that while books entertain readers, they are to minister first. The same way a pastor’s job is to lead people to Christ through preaching- a writer's job is to do the same through their books, whether it's romance or mystery or another genre. We authors need to include prayers and scriptures, knowing that not everyone who reads our books are Christian.

So to answer the question. What is the purpose of writing?  Well, that’s easy-We are called to feed God’s sheep and in doing so lead them to salvation. We all have to give an account to God.