 |
| Christina Miller |
As a
pastor’s wife and worship leader, my friend has a heart for ministry. As an
author, Christina Miller has also
traveled the road to publication. Is
there a difference between being called and being chosen? What do you think?
~
Dawn
For
Many are Called, but Few are Chosen: A Writer’s Guide from the Gospel of
Matthew
Has God called you to write? I sensed the call of God on my
work several years before I sold a book. I’ve met many writers who tell me,
“God has called me to write, but I get nothing but rejections from agents and
editors. What am I doing wrong?”
Sometimes, I sense God asking me to offer them this verse
from Matthew’s gospel: “Many are called, but few are chosen.” The writer always
answers, “I know I’m called. How do I get God to choose me for a book
contract?”
I used to think I had no control over what God decided. But
as I considered this verse, I realized I was wrong.
Years ago, I heard the keynote speaker at an ACFW conference
say, “Most of you in this room will never sell a book.” At that time, I was
among the unchosen, and those words hurt. But they made me think about Matthew
22:14, and this is what I discovered:
God does the calling, but it’s up to us to get chosen.
For example, if you ask your child to bring you a glass of
water, you’ve called him to serve you. If he says yes and brings you the water,
he has then chosen himself for the job.
Becoming a chosen one involves two things: suffering and
sacrifice. Your child sacrificed the game he was playing and served you a glass
of water instead. Likewise, we must sacrifice in order to become chosen: spend
the time and money needed to learn our craft, critique for others, and give up
TV, movies, coloring books, Facebook, and any other unprofitable pursuit that
wastes our time.
But one sacrifice will help a called one to become a chosen
one: spending one hour a day (Matthew 26:40) obeying Matthew 6:6 (NKJV):“But
you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray
to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret
will reward you openly.”
Closing the door to our room is like going behind the veil
in the temple. We enter the secret place of prayer, where our Father waits for
us to come in and spend time with Him. In the secret place, ask Him for new
ideas for your book, tell Him where your plot or characters seem stuck, pray
for favor with your targeted editor and agent. But most of all, make sure He
knows you (Matthew 7:23). Tell Him how you feel about the issues in your life
today. What made you smile yesterday? Share it with Him. What do you need His
help with today?
The secret place is where we go to seek God’s face and
worship Him. Then we leave with His favor—on our way to becoming a chosen one.
Returning
home, Confederate hero Colonel Graham Talbot faces his toughest battle
yet—avoiding the marriage-minded young ladies in town vying for his attentions.
With a stepmother and orphaned niece to support, the penniless soldier has no
intention of marrying. Neither does the woman he once loved, his next-door
neighbor Ellie Anderson. But Ellie has a proposal of her own: a pretend
courtship to keep their unwanted admirers at bay.
Ellie's
unpredictable childhood left her determined to safeguard her independence—and
her plantation. Blaming herself for driving Graham away to war, she devises a
plan to help them both. But when it goes awry, Ellie will face a choice: save
her beloved property…or trust in a relationship that's becoming undeniably
real.
Christina
Miller has always lived in the past. Her passion for history began
with her grandmother’s stories of 1920s rural southern Indiana. When Christina
began to write fiction, she believed God was calling her to write what she
knew: history.
Bethany College of Missions graduate, pastor’s wife, and
worship leader, she lives on the family’s farm with her husband of twenty-eight
years and Sugar, their talking dog.
