My Magnum Opus (So Far) · 3 February 2024
I just published my magnum opus. My greatest, most magnificent book.
I am not sure that I can really call my latest book my magnum opus. At least not yet. But I am going to do so for now. One, because even though it is not that long of a book, it is probably my best work so far. Two… Hmm… I am not sure I have a two. At any rate, I do think that The Church Underground is my best book so far. Hopefully, it will not be my best book ever. Hopefully, I will write a better one later. But who knows. All I can do at this point is look at the body of work I have produced so far. And I think this one is the best of those. (Even if I am still striving to be mediocre.)
The Church Underground is a piece of fiction. It is not about a church being underground. At least not in a physical sense. It is about a people being forced underground because society has made them into outlaws. It is a story about persecution, but that is not its main point. The main point is that it is not what people label themselves that is important, it is how people think and act that matters. There is an old song that we used to sing in youth group that says, “They will know we are Christians by our love.” Labels do not make people who they are. Their words and their actions show their true natures.
It is funny. I think this book has been bubbling in my head for many years. The back cover of the print version and the description say that the book came about from a thought and a question. The thought: “I would follow Jesus even under the threat of my own life. The question: “Would I be strong enough to follow the Lord even under the threat of my children’s lives? Especially, if I did not know whether they were following Him or not.”
This thought and question brought the book to life. It was not a fun book to write. I had a difficult time writing a murder scene. No. I am not going to give away the plot of the book, but you might be able to guess some of it through the description so far. I give a warning in the description and on the front of the book that it contains murder scenes of children and other innocent people. I know. That gives away a little more of the book, but I wanted to make sure people knew that they were not getting a nice quaint story from an author that nobody ever heard of. Except, of course, those few readers (both real and imaginary) who read my blog and/or other books I have written.
I do not have any illusions about how this book, my magnum opus (so far), will do in the marketplace. I hope that a few people read it. And I hope those few do more than enjoy it. I hope they think about it. I hope they want to investigate more about who Jesus is. I hope they want to know more about the real people who have enough faith to follow Jesus even when they or their families might lose their lives for that faith.
I started writing this blog post thinking that it would be a piece to promote my newest book. But I hope that it does what I want to do with all my life. I hope that it and the books that I write and the words that I say and the things that I do all glorify God. For that is my purpose in life. I want to shine my light before people so that they might look to see whose light I am reflecting.
So whether or not you read any of my published books, I hope that my magnum opus (so far) and my life reflect God’s love.
© 2024 Michael T. Miyoshi
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