Whether or not you're a fan of fiction, Deadline is a Christian novel that will not only engross you, but educate and inspire as well. Randy Alcorn, director of Eternal Perspectives Ministries and author of numerous non-fiction titles including the best-selling Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Questions, has successfully used the vehicle of fiction to communicate his life message: Christians need to live with eternity in mind.
Deadline is the story of Jake Woods and the mystery surrounding the tragic death of his two closest friends. When evidence surfaces that their death was no accident, Jake is thrown into a roller-coaster search for the murderer and, even more importantly, meaning in his own life. The genius of Alcorn's novel is that his protagonist is an antagonist in the eyes of most Christians. Jake Woods is a liberal's liberal newspaper columnist who dogmatically pushes everything from abortion on demand to "safe sex" and the NEA in his widely read columns. The author, who in his own life has been sorely abused for his prolife stand and convictions in the press, still manages to get inside the head of Jake Woods and convincingly show his mindset and perception of conservative Christians.
The jolt that wakes Jake out of his cozy, elitest lifestyle is the departure of Doc and Finney, two men whom he grew up with, fought in 'Nam with, and with whom he spent every Sunday afternoon watching football games. In Doc and Finney, the author has a vehicle to show the outworking of the lives we live and the eternal consequence of everything we are.
I was most impacted by the portions of the book where heaven is described. When Finney, Jake's only, and sometimes barely tolerated Christian friend dies, his role in the story doesn't end. With one of the most joyful and imaginative (and I should add, I believe, accurate) descriptions of heaven you'll ever read, the author shows the awe and wonderful discovery Finney experiences in heaven. The juxtaposition of eternal paradise and Jake's struggles in the hellishness of our world gives meaning in the daily struggles we face as Christians, and hope for Christ's final victory.
In a letter I wrote to Randy Alcorn thanking him for his novel, I told him I'd never felt more "excited about being alive and more anxious to die." In a very real sense that should be the wonderful dilemma of the Christian life. Though rich with meaning and purpose, we're constantly aware that in this life, we're only passing through. Reading Deadline challenged me to live with, in Randy's own words, "an eternal perspective."
