Prophet? Or “kook”?
Empty Reflection is on the verge of being published - although the title has been changed to “Blood Reflection”, tying in more pointedly to the issue of the blood of Christ on the soldier’s cloak, thus the ‘origin’ of the main character, Brock Auzman.
I actually wrote this book, which is about two young men who struggle with their identity, nearly three years ago. Had it been published immediately (obviously a near-impossible task) I might have looked like a prophet as I wrote about a politician with a rock-star presentation who has a meteoric rise on the political scene. I’m afraid I might look more like some right-wing kook now! But the main principle still remains, regardless of how it might be perceieved now: we need character and content, not just flash and show, from those who would be leaders.
The prophets of old were probably looked at as kooks - in fact many were persecuted and even killed for their outspoken ways. But they carried their message faithfully to those they were sent to regardless of public opinion or popularity. They understood character and knew the importance of the content they were charged to deliver.
There are few prophets in our day - but we need to make sure we aren’t swept away with simple charisma when a situation calls for truth, not to mention change. The messenger might not always be flashy, but what matters is that he is faithful to the proper cause, not just to the popularity polls.