I confess… I’m a pusher!  A book pusher.  It could be worse.  I could be pushing cocaine, but nonetheless, I am a pusher, who pushes a different substance.  That is because I love to read—something I never used to do, before I knew the Lord.  Even reading a newspaper article, from start to finish, used to be a cumbersome task.  Now that I know the Lord, I devour books.  It seems like any free moment becomes an opportunity to sneak away and nibble on another chapter.  Actually, I have about 10 books going at a time, apart from my normal study for sermon preparation, which itself is a weekly dive into about 25 commentaries.  Is this starting to sound like an addiction? 

I am captivated by learning.  I used to put Proverbs 23:23 on my bookshelves at school, which reads, “Buy truth and do not sell it.  Get wisdom and instruction and understanding.”  I take that literally! 

There are good books – books that you are glad you read, because they contribute to your thinking and though you might not agree with everything in them, you plough through them to the end, because the effect it has on you will be worth it.  It is a book you would recommend, and keep on your shelf.  This is like eating watermelon – every once in a while, you get a mouthful of seeds, and you have to spit them out. 

There are okay books – books that might have a couple helpful thoughts, or perhaps a decent chapter in them, which, when I read them and start to get disinterested, I begin to scan so that it is a good use of my time.  This is like eating fish with a lot of bones.  The fish is good, but the bones are annoying.  Often, when the time comes to clear away unnecessary books from the shelves, these get donated or pitched. 

Then there are bad books – books that you realize, especially very early on in the opening chapters, are a waste of time to read, because they are poorly written, inaccurate, and unless you need a doorstop, they hit the round file.  They are like eating dirt. 

And then there are classic books – books that everyone has but no one has read; books that we are told have had an impact on culture, which everyone should read, but only a few actually get around to doing. 

But on a shelf in my office are certain books that I am reluctant to loan out.  They are the best books I have ever read, and while I would recommend them to others, rarely do I let them out of my office or out of my reach.  They are books that contain my own special markings, books I have read fiercely, and find the itch to come back to as quickly as possible as I am going through them.  These are the books that, as soon as I get into the opening chapters, I realize that I will no longer be the same every time I turn the page, because of the excellence of the material and the wisdom gained.  These are like no other books in print of their kind.  They have no peer.    

One such book is Safely Home, by Randy Alcorn – a fiction book (which I rarely read), that details the life of a man, Li Quan and his former Harvard University roommate Ben Fielding.  Ben has moved to the top of the corporate ladder and is postured to take over the multi-billion dollar corporation Getz International.  Li Quan on the other hand, though he was trained to be one of the best professors in all of China, once back in his homeland, can only rise to the level of assistant locksmith, because of his faith in Christ. 

The book is an amazing contrast of a man who, though he has everything, his life is empty; over against a man who has nothing, but has everything.   Ben struts around in Italian suits, wears wingtip shoes, enjoys every convenience of life, professes faith in Jesus Christ, but has hardly demonstrated genuine fruitfulness and his perfect life and marriage are falling apart.  Li Quan lives in a lean-to shack with his wife and son, works countless hours just to make end’s meat, is constantly under surveillance and threats, has his faith tested with life on the line, and has come forth like gold—Li Quan is suffering persecution in China because he is a Christian and a member of the underground church. 

In this story, the two old roommates meet up on a business trip Ben makes to China, a trip from which he will not return the same.  His interaction with his struck down but not destroyed friend opens up his eyes to not only the reality of persecution of Christians in China, but also what it means to be a Christian, for real.  Ben gets to see what it truly means to be a follower of Jesus Christ, when the shame of his own shallow life is magnified.  But as it is with God, Ben’s life is changed when his dear friend is wrongly accused, arrested, and imprisoned to work off his “crime” in the sweatshop Ben’s own company supports and funds!   Thus, Ben is forced to choose between a life of comfort and ease at the top of the corporate ladder, or his faith.  Ben must face the decision to look the other way or give himself away! 

In the end… nope – I can't give away the end!  It is too thrilling!  I honestly could not put the book down in the final days of reading it.  I woke up in the middle of the night a couple of times thinking about it – something that no other book than the Bible has made me do, because of how riveting it is. 

What makes this book so riveting is the life lessons that come through, as the characters, though fictional, interact with the word of God in very hard circumstances, the likes of which I have not yet been called to face.   The difficulties, though made up, are the reality for those whose life is nothing like mine.  Yet, in my heart, I find a strange kind of envy, and a new motivation to pray.  For example, at one point in the book, Li Quan tells Ben Fielding how to pray for those who are persecuted – not that their human rights might be established and that the enemies would go away, but that in the midst of their persecution, they would be purified, the glory of Christ might be seen as better than life, and that those who are in prison might have the special benefit of things like: recall of God’s Word in moments of testing, opportunities to share Christ with other prisoners who are there by divine appointment, the ability to push past the gag reflexes and to stomach the prison food (even praying that it might taste good), that the clothes they have might actually keep them warm, that their loved ones might fill the huge hole they left with Christ, who alone is enough, and that above all, that they nor their loved ones would not deny the Master who bought them. 

The other part of the book that is absolutely stunning are the glimpses we get into heaven, where the saints gather together with the angels in the presence of Christ, whose compassion on His dear children also burns against those who persecute them.  He takes it so personally when they are attacked; it is like it was done to Him.  One vivid scene near the end pictures the Savior watching as Li Quan is beaten mercilessly by his atheist attacker, and the earth that once shined blue and green becomes ashen grey and blood red, because Christ’s piercing eyes that burn like a flame of fire are ready to consume it;  the Savior grasps His sword and begins to unsheathe it from its scabbard, ready to slice it in two, but then, out of love and mercy, He chooses to restrain His wrath and extend mercy, just a little while longer, until the last martyr has come home. 

ONE SPOILER – the epilogue of the book was hard for me to read, because of the water in my eyes.  It was the day that Jesus girded Himself for war on a majestic, heavenly, white steed, and came to earth with brilliant glory to judge the world and restore all things to a state of righteousness.  This combined with the view of heaven we see just 2 chapters earlier when Li Quan arrives, Safely Home, is breathtaking. 

I hope that you will read this book, and that your love and prayers for the persecuted church might grow, and that your own world, safe as it might be, is rocked to the point where you are willing to give yourself away for the greatest cause – the cause of Christ! 

About the Author

Randy Alcorn  is the founder and director of Eternal Perspectives Ministries (EPM), a nonprofit ministry devoted to promoting an eternal viewpoint and drawing attention to people in special need of advocacy and help.  He is the author of thirteen previous books, including Money, Possessions, and Eternity; In Light of Eternity:  Perspectives on Heaven; and The Ishbane Conspiracy.  Randy's novels Deadline, Dominion, Edge of Eternity, and Lord Foulgrin's Letters are all best-sellers.  A pastor for fourteen years before founding EPM, Randy is a popular teacher and conference speaker.  He has spoken in many countries and has been interviewed on more than 350 radio and television programs.  He has taught part-time at Western Baptist Seminary and Multnomah Bible College.  Randy lives in Gresham, Oregon, with his wife Nanci.  They have two grown daughters, Karina and Angela.

All royalties received by the author and cover artist will be donated to help the persecuted church around the world.