What would you do if your home was taken from you, your spouse was suddenly sent to prison without any information given to you on their whereabouts, and you had to rely on the support of others to live? What if they were sent to jail simply because they were a Christian? And what if situations like this actually existed in the world? They do.
Such a situation is portrayed in Randy Alcorn's new book, Safely Home. The book centers around the reunion of two old Harvard roommates. Ben Fielding is a corporate vice president for Getz International, a computer company seeking to build their presence in China, whom Ben believes is the next big economic power in the world. As he travels to China to gather information, Ben is reunited with his old roommate, Li Quan. Quan lives in a simple one-room home with his wife and son, and Ben soon learns that Quan's life didn't turn out how they expected it to back at Harvard.
The story focuses on the persecution Quan and other Christians face in China simply because they are Christians. They must smuggle in Bibles, meet secretly in the middle of the night for worship services, and risk their very lives to worship the one whom they believe in. As Ben lives with his old roommate, he soon learns of the wool that has been pulled over the rest of the world's eyes regarding religious freedom in China. Ben is at first skeptical as to Quan's ways of worship, himself having been given tours by the Chinese government of Three-Self Patriotic Movement churches, the official church of the Communist government. But when tragic events unfold in their lives, Ben is affected personally, and their lives will never be the same.
Safely Home is an excellent book, masterfully written and compelling as it unfolds. The gripping story is fiction, but it is not fantasy. In fact, some of the events in the book reflect actual occurrences in China. Persecution in China and other parts of the world is real, and Randy Alcorn vividly describes these events with such an impact that the reader cannot help but walk away affected by them. The reader gets a real sense of the type of stress and trouble that Chinese Christians face on a daily basis. In the end, it makes us realize how lucky we are in America to have such a vast amount of religious freedom.
Randy Alcorn is a magnificent author, and brings the reader into the experiences of Ben and Quan in the book. He combines the threat of persecution with the promise of hope and heaven, showing that even though in this world we may face troubles, God has ultimately overcome those troubles. The book also includes several scenes of Heaven, and Alcorn does an excellent job of conveying the wonder and excitement of it.
In a day when books in the Christian market are all trying to point consumers to the "secret of prayer" or "steps to true intimacy with God," Safely Home actually shows a portrait of Christians who have already attained intimacy with God through their hope despite persecution. We would do well to learn from them.
