The Last Christian

I read a lot of books. A lot. Specifically I read a lot of Christian novels. But, recently I’ve been realizing there’s two kinds of these novels.  There’s novels written by Christians and there’s Christian novels. The first is a book that just happens to be written by a Christian.  There’s nothing offensive in it, but also nothing that happens to give glory to God. It’s just a book. It’s neutral. Kinda like Switchfoot. Then there’s the second, the Christian novel.  It’s a rare find. A novel not only written by a Christian, but also one that has a great plot and that gives glory to God.  I just finished a book like that. It was called The Last Christian by David Gregory.

In the book, Abby emerges from her village home in Papua New Guinea where she has been living as a missionary for all of her 34 years. The year is 2088.  She flies back to a new world in the United States. Virtual Reality is a common place thing, and brain transplants are the new frontier.  The most frightening thing is that she is the only Christian left in America. Christianity has died out completely. The mega-churches of the 90’s are now schools and malls.

While all this sci-fi stuff is entertaining to read, the heart of the book goes much deeper.  Gregory makes a really important point in his book. The reason, he writes through one of his characters, that Christianity died in the US early in the 21st century is because Christians didn’t look any different than non-Christians. Their lives hadn’t been transformed by the power of the Gospel. And now, this character challenges Abby that she is preaching an incomplete Gospel. One of God’s forgiveness for our sins, but not of a changed life.

The theme of new life is central to this book.  On one side, you have the scientists offering so-called “eternal life” through brain transplants.  On the other, Gregory challenges the notion of modern Christianity that offers Jesus as the Way to heaven, but forgets to mention that He is the Life.  That when He calls us to Himself He offers us and demands of us a completely transformed and changed life; one lived for God’s glory and purposes alone.

This book was fun to read, but more importantly it made me think.  What if an entire generation of Christians looked different than our culture?  What if we truly lived the life Christ is calling us to live?  What if our lives were so radically changed by our decision to follow Christ?  I think we would be either hated by or irresistible to the world around us.  As it is, I don’t think the world cares one way or the other.  Our divorce rate is the same, our rate of sexual immorality is the same, we talk like them, think like them, watch the same movies and TV shows as them.  We are just as busy and frazzled and messed up as the world.  No wonder no one wants Jesus. What difference does He make?  That really was the burning question at the end of this book. What difference does Jesus make in my life?

For more information on The Last Christian go to www.waterbrookmultnomah.com

This book was provided by review by Waterbrook Multnomah Press