Romance often gets a bad rap as fluffy nonsense, and Christian fiction can garner a lot of criticism over unrealistic characters and “preachy” stories. Christian romance finds itself smack in the middle of the two: fluffy nonsense with unrealistic characters and “preachy” storylines. For me, this criticism is unfair.
I first came across Christian romance when I was in middle school. I was already a hopeless romantic and an avid reader, and my mother was cautious about what she let me read. So she introduced me to Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke. I was hooked. After devouring as many Janette Oke books as I could, I was introduced to Love Inspired books.
Honestly, while I loved the historical periods depicted in Love Comes Softly and When Calls the Heart, Love Inspired books were actually the ones that made me realize that books could carry an important message. For within these books, I found characters struggling through real challenges. Combatting fear and insecurities that I could relate to. And the spiritual truths resonated with me in a way I can’t fully explain. Some books pricked my conscience and made me realize I needed to strengthen my relationship with Christ. Others reminded me of His faithfulness.
That’s when I knew I wanted to write Christian romance. I wanted to write stories that spoke to people the way these stories spoke to me.
And yes, I know people still consider romances to be fluff. Might even consider Christian romances to be a paradox. But there’s something beautiful and encouraging about “seeing” two imperfect people try to love each other with a Christ-like love. To watch them fail and try again just to come to a realization about Christ’s love. For if we, imperfect as we are, struggle with offering forgiveness and grace and mercy, how much more meaningful and amazing is it that God, who is perfect, extends that to us every day?
This comparison isn’t new. The Bible often uses marriage as a metaphor for Christ’s relationship with the Church (Rev. 21:2, Rev. 21:9, John 3:29, just to name a few).
As for unrealistic characters, I’m seeing Christian fiction in general, not just romance, begin to tackle more tough issues. The characters aren’t goody two shoes anymore. Instead they’re flawed. They struggle. They sin. And that makes them relatable. I’ve found myself in tears because a character is experiencing the exact same thing I’m struggling with. Or hurt for a character because I’ve been there and know how that feels. These stories have made me more empathetic. Made me strive to be more loving and kind. They’ve even made me examine my ideals about Christian relationships and marriage.
So for me these stories aren’t fluff or unrealistic nonsense. They’re stories of people learning what Christ’s love means to them and striving to show that love to others.
