Don’t settle for survival in our broken world
Part
2 of an interview with Erik Guzman,
Author
of The Seed: A True Myth
At
some point, everyone will have a moment where they simply know something is missing in their lives. Attempts to fill, ignore
or dull this void are never successful and only end up leaving them exhausted,
confused and alone. These are themes explored by author Erik Guzman in his
debut release, The Seed: A True Myth (New Growth Press/May
16, 2016). This parable uses symbolism and vivid
imagery to help readers think critically about the great lengths they go to in
order to avoid the pain of living in a broken world, rather than accepting the
peace and freedom the Gospel offers.
Q: What is the most genuine way
to survive in a broken world like ours?
Give up on
survival.
We
desperately want to bring something to the equation besides our helplessness in
a broken world. That’s the reason we refuse to believe everything we need has
already been provided by God. That’s why we don’t put down roots into God and
let him fill our emptiness. We need to stop pretending we have it all together.
We need to stop fighting for survival, open clenched fists and receive God’s
unconditional love and care with open hands. We need to stop being a bunch of
posers.
We settle
for survival while our heavenly Father offers salvation: death, resurrection
and the redemption of all we’ve done and left undone while trying to merely
survive.
Q: What responsibility do you
think Christians have to show others how to handle the suffering life often
brings us?
My mentor
and friend Steve Brown often says that every time a pagan gets cancer, a
Christian gets cancer so the world can see the difference. What’s the
difference? I suppose it’s that we know we don’t go through the suffering
alone. We have a God who knows what it’s like to suffer because he chose to
enter into our broken world and, through suffering and death, bring redemption
and restoration of all that’s been lost. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who
mourn, because they will be comforted.” When we suffer, God suffers with us.
While that doesn’t make the pain go away, we are comforted by his presence.
Q: Explain the concept of a
fractal and your fascination with them.
A fractal is
a simple, self-similar, repeating pattern. They appear everywhere in nature. In
fact, nature is all self-similar repeating patterns. A tree is a great example.
The branches are simply smaller versions of the trunk that split off and get
smaller and smaller until twigs form smaller versions of the branches. These
smallest branches bear leaves and seeds that become new trees with trunks that
split into more branches and bear more seeds. Look at a fractal and you see eternity.
Everything
from galaxies to clouds, mountains, plants, animals and even our nervous and
circulatory systems all consist of fractal patterns. What’s so fascinating is
that all this complexity comes from such simple, self-similar repetition. And
now that we have computers that can handle the computation, we can reproduce
these amazing patterns using simple mathematical formulas that are referred to
as the seed of the fractal. The visualizations of these simple equations are
literally infinitely beautiful.
Q: Why do you view The Seed as a type of fractal?
All through
the book there are self-similar, repeating patterns. One example, hopefully
without giving too much away, is the labyrinth with a tower in the middle. The
labyrinth itself is a self-similar, repeating pattern, but one character,
Madeline, ends up trapped in the center of it. Later we find out there was
another labyrinth in Madeline’s past with a towering tree in the center instead
of a literal tower. This tree contained evil and when Madeline . . . well, I
probably shouldn’t say anything more. Trust me, there are self-similar,
repeating patterns throughout the book.
Beyond the
patterns in the storytelling, the book is literally the seed of a fractal. It’s
the seed of what I call the Love Fractal. There is an idea in this book that is
dangerous in a delightfully, disruptive good way. My hope is that by consuming The Seed, you’ll see the self-similar,
repeating pattern of Love forming within you and your life — maybe even see
this pattern filling the whole world. This pattern is what it means when we
hear we are made in the image of God: a self-similar, repeating pattern of
joyous being, selfless giving and grateful receiving . . . a divine fractal . .
. the Love Fractal.
Q: The Seed is packed with Trinitarian theology but doesn’t use the
typical “Christianese.” How did you take care to present the Gospel in an
accurate way while still creating an entertaining and engaging story?
I went to
seminary to write The Seed. I read
lots of books and attended lots of lectures to get the insight of theologians
so I could take what they taught and communicate it in a way people who won’t
do all that work might be able to hear and internalize. I started seeing a
counselor and wove insights from therapy into this book. It took years, lots of
shooting ideas around with friends and a number of talented editors to get the
story right — or at least as right as I could get it. So how did I take care to
do this right? Basically I didn’t do it alone.
All that
being said, The Seed is fantasy
fiction. I like to call it a mythic spiritual memoir. It’s not strictly
allegory, and that means some liberties had to be taken to tell a good story
that rings true. Still, read this book and you’ll be hard-pressed to miss the
heart of the message of the Bible, rich Trinitarian theology and the good news
Jesus brought us.
Q: What is the overarching message
you’re trying to communicate to readers in The
Seed: A True Myth?
The Love
Fractal will grow, filling the world with joyous being, selfless giving and
grateful receiving, and you can experience it by embracing helplessness and
trusting Love . . . because Love never fails.
Learn more about The Seed: A True Myth
and Erik Guzman by
or reading
his articles at www.keylife.org.
Comments