Let's face it, every human wants to be loved greatly and loved unconditionally. It is, I believe, the single deepest desire of all of our hearts--to be loved and valued. Yet, in our fallen human state, we are unable to offer that kind of love to others. But this is exactly what Father God offers every person through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. Yet many people, even those who have heard the Gospel growing up in church, don't really get the true meaning.
That's why I wrote Tears of the Sea. I wanted to create a story that would take the Gospel and show it in such a way, and from such a different angle, that it would touch people deep in their spirits and help them to see the true meaning. I didn't want to portray it like the mainstream church does, not because they do it wrong, but because people have heard it so often, they tend to dismiss it. Tears of the Sea gives a different perspective that perhaps will help open some eyes. My goal is to reach the lost and dying. This was and is my heart.
Because the truth of the matter is there is a God and He loves you unconditionally. He loves you when nobody else loves you. He loves you when you're ugly and dirty and smelly. He loves you when you're sick, when you're lonely and rejected. He loves you when you do terrible things. He loves you the same, all the time, forever. And He proved it by sending His only Son to die a horrible, painful death for you. His death and resurrection broke the barrier between you and a Holy God, so that through Jesus, you can now have a relationship with your Father in Heaven. It's a love story like no other. It's romantic and passionate and sacrificial and beautiful. And it's about you and how much God loves you and how He wants you to spend eternity with Him. It's the stuff fairy tales and romances are made of. It's the happy ending we all seek.
That's why I wrote Tears of the Sea.
For those of you confused about the characters and their roles, I've listed them below. If you have any questions, I'd love to hear from you.
Spoiler Alert! Don't read any further if you haven't read the story and don't want it ruined
Savion of course represents Jesus. He is a type of Jesus, not a direct representation. I did my best to create a character that was good and honorable and kind and generous and all the things we attribute to Jesus. However, in order to make the story work, I made Savion unsure of his exact mission in Erden. This, of course, was not true of Jesus. He knew exactly why He had come to Earth. I also made Savion be divorced from an unfaithful bride. That bride represents Israel. This is entirely Scriptural
Jeremiah 3:7-8 says
I thought, ‘After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also.
The amulet around Savion's neck represents the Holy Spirit. It was both Savion's power and guidance throughout his time in Erden. It did not represent sorcery or magic but the power of Holy Spirit, which was then passed onto Perdita after he returned to Heaven.
Perdita which means lost represents humanity in its weakest fallen state. When Adam and Eve sinned, they came under a curse for all eternity, a curse of death and hopelessness. Fallen man then became very wicked, perverse, and evil. Though I tried to make Perdita likeable, because she represents fallen man, she is essentially a bad person. The Bible says that even our good works are like filthy rags compared to God's goodness. Perdita represents every human being who is desperately searching for unconditional love and to be set free from the curse and live forever. Therefore, she does a lot of bad things. She tries to get people to die for her, she's been very promiscuous, and she tries to seduce Savion. I couldn't make her a nice person because she represents us!
Nastas, of course, is Satan, the ruler of this world. The malum are his demons, who go about tormenting and torturing people and trying to stop Savion from his mission.
Petrok is Peter, Nuto is Doubting Thomas, Verras is Judas, and Hona is John. I tried to portray these men as they are shown in the Bible.
Damien represents the Pharisees. He hates Savion just as they hated Jesus. He is more interested in power and money than salvation, yet he hopes to get to heaven by his own works.
Throughout the story, the more time Perdita spends with Savion, the more she begins to see her own sinfulness, which is exactly what happens to each one of us. She begins to see how wrong she's been her entire life and how wicked she has been. By the end of the story, she is ashamed and even willing to risk herself for Savion.
But of course, Savion ends up sacrificing himself for Perdita, just like Jesus sacrificed Himself for mankind. Afterward, Perdita finally gets it. She finally realizes what unconditional love is and with the help of the Holy Spirit (Savion's amulet) she carries on his work in Erden, just like the church carries on the work of Christ here on earth.
At the end of the book, just like at the end of the Bible, Jesus comes back for his bride, (the church), brings her to heaven where they celebrate the Marriage of the Lamb.
All of this I hoped to accomplish in an exciting, romantic adventure, which I prayerfully wrote over many months. In my weak humanity, I may not have done the best job possible, but I did the best I could, and my heart is that it will reach many people with the good news that God loves them, that He died for them, and that He wants them to be with Him forever in the most beautiful, wonderful place imaginable.
If you're reading this and you didn't like Tears of the Sea, I completely understand. It's not your thing. Fine. But I do hope you'll join me in praying that whatever God has planned for this story, His will will be done.
