“Why Were They Left Behind?
What would you do if the Rapture happened and you were left behind?
Many authors in recent years have tackled this question, but this author answers it in a unique fashion that tells a poignant story and gives the reader food for thought at the same time.
Faye is an African-American church mother in the AME church. Chad is a conservative white Christian radio talk show host with racially incendiary views. Rosa, who is Hispanic, teaches English at a Catholic school, and Jeremiah is also African-American, the pastor of a popular megachurch and a renowned Bible scholar. The only thing these four disparate individuals have in common is the fact that the Rapture happened and they’re all still here.
Lewis spins a compelling tale of the human condition through the eyes of these four. With the exception of Rosa, they thought they were all right with God and that they should have been taken. Forced to take shelter in the church where Faye has worshipped for forty years, they talk. In talking, they examine their hearts and contemplate how they came to be where they are and not where they expected to be.
I was impressed with the fact that none of these folks instantly fell to their knees and changed their ways. The very issues that caused them to miss the Rapture linger and fester; the very issues that would ordinarily have kept them apart are still there, but now they might be a bit more willing to address them.
These are believable characters; as you learn their stories, you want to shake them, hug them and smack them in the backs of their heads all at the same time. They come off as real, which makes this an enjoyable read. I read and enjoyed the entire Left Behind series, yet in less than 200 pages, Lewis gives us more concentrated spiritual food than Left Behind did in sixteen books.
There is room for a sequel, and I hope the author sees fit to give us one. Whether she does or not, this book is well worth reading. You can't come away from it without examining your own heart to make sure that if you were inside these pages, you wouldn't be there with these four strangers.
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Maurice G wrote this review Saturday, February 9, 2013.
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