A Calling to the Lost

Al I. ADY

It’s the year 2054 and the United States is desperately clinging to the fading hope of survival. Society is crumbling nearly as fast as the infrastructure. A strong military, strict rules, and the promise of moral freedom are the only tools the reigning Dictator (President Kurtlan) has to keep control of his weakening nation.

With the rise of homosexuality and the falling desire of couples to have kids, the States sanctions a breeding program called The Future of Our Nation (TFON). Women are paid to be matched up with soldiers and give birth to children owned by the States. These children never meet their fathers, and are typically later torn away from their mothers, know nothing of family. They are servants of the state, and fight ruthlessly to get what they want. 

In downtown Denver, Colorado, glass shards fill the streets from shattering skyscraper windows. Families band together in skyscrapers to protect each other from the crime, government, and bitter winters. People vanish without warning and are never heard of again.

Surrounding the inner Denver area lies the Deadlands: a wide ring of abandoned and decaying neighborhoods. This is the land of the lawless, where even the military fears to enter. Scavengers plunder the buildings for materials and rob anyone they find on their way. Mobs operate ruthlessly without fear or resistance. And struggling rebel cells organize, train, and attack without warning. No one can be trusted in these lands. Upon entering, all one hopes to find are collapsed buildings, rusted cars, and the occasional deer or coyote.

Hidden from all lies the Catacombs: a massive Christian civilization hidden deep in a mine somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. Thirty-thousand Christians hide from the government, fearing every day that they might be discovered and destroyed by the States because of their stand against the State’s moral-freedom laws.

None of these Christians ever leave the safety of the caves, except for a few. These are the Riskers. Despite the laws stating that they must be shot on sight for their anti-freedom beliefs, they dare step out to share the love and life they’ve found in Christ in hopes that some may repent and believe. They fix their eyes on eternity, and lay their lives down so that others may be freed from the burden of sin and find true life.

The nation is lost and hopeless. Not even their pursuit of pleasure fulfills them. Suicide is the norm. Their hearts cry out for hope but those who have the light hide deep below the ground out of fear. Only the few Riskers dare reach out and often die as a result. Something must change. Lives must be lost so others can be saved. The few faithful Riskers cling to the hope that God must be at work in unseen ways.

Upon moving to the Middle East for a year-long mission with cru, I recognized a serious problem. Millions of Muslims and billions of others around the world were forced to live meaningless and hopeless lives without ever getting the chance to hear the gospel. I saw broken hearts pass me on every street. But how could I tell them all? And why was no one else going there to reach them? Why were American Christians so afraid and so preoccupied with their own safety and comfort when there were thousands of people dying every day without ever getting a single chance to hear the good news of Jesus?

I couldn’t stand it, nor could I fix it. So, I did the one thing I knew I was good at. Alongside sharing my faith with Muslims in the Middle East, I started writing the first book of the Thrive Series: Winter.

I’ve always loved writing books. I finished five books before I went to the Middle East. But, when I saw the desperate need for the gospel, I understood why God gave me this passion for writing and why he called me to the Middle East.

Jesus used parables to change hearts. Stories. This is the key to unlock the human heart. By writing a story based on our current world, I can show the need of the lost and expose the passivity of the American Church.

I used to write simply out of a love for writing, but now I write with a purpose. Now I have a mission in mind that pushes me on even when I have no idea what to write. I write to change lives, and I write to play my part in saving lives. Praise God that he writes these desires in our hearts and then fulfills these desires by inviting us into his great rescue mission.

Thank you for joining me today Al. I wish you the best of luck with your writing career and hope you see Winter published soon. 🙂

Al I. ADY has had a passion for writing fiction novels since the age of seven. At the age of thirteen, he held his first ministry position with Child Evangelism Fellowship. Since then he’s been sharing his faith with neighbors, co-workers, classmates, people on the bus, and strangers he meets anywhere. Now he works with the Great Commission Alliance in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he trains others in evangelism and discipleship and writes fiction books to challenge believers to take hard steps of faith and show non-believers what true Christianity should look like. You can find him at www.aliady.com and on Facebook.

OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN GUEST BLOGS ARE NOT NECESSARILY THE OPINION OF SARA L. FOUST, NOR AN ENDORSEMENT FOR GUEST’S BOOKS. I AM HAPPY TO HELP FELLOW AUTHORS GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT THEIR BOOKS, BUT HAVE NOT NECESSARILY READ ALL OF THE ONES THAT APPEAR ON MY BLOG. HOWEVER, GUEST’S BOOKS THAT APPEAR ON MY BLOG HAVE BEEN REPRESENTED TO ME AS BEING IN THE CLEAN-READS/CHRISTIAN GENRE.