Personal Growth, Christian Living, Love & Marriage
Date Published: May 25, 2021
Publisher: Lucid Books Publishing
Explore the little-known truth about what it really means to love your neighbor as yourself.
Loving your neighbor as yourself is an act of the will, not something you feel. At least that's what most Christians believe. But is that what the Bible actually teaches? In Love Is an Emotion R. L. Lewis invites you to take an honest look at the scriptures and determine the answer to this question for yourself. As you reason your way through these pages, you'll discover:
● How the common view of "Christian" love measures up to the test of logic.
● How the subjective nature of emotion relates to the objective truth of God's Word
● How a revised definition of love can impact our understanding of the gospel of grace.
If you're eager to explore the little-known truth about what it really means to love your neighbor as yourself, this book is for you.
Can you tell us a little about the process of getting
this book published? How did you come up with the idea and how did you start?
I’ve always been fascinated with how
emotions “fit” into the Christian life, probably because I’ve so often
struggled to figure out how to deal with them in my own life. That
fascination eventually led me to the view I hold today about love’s being an
emotion. But I have rarely found a book written from a Christian perspective
that doesn’t talk about love without defining it as some kind of action or
commitment. So, I decided to write my own! Of course, I had no idea what that
decision would entail. I simply started writing down everything that came to
mind. Six years later, a book popped out! And by “popped out,” I really mean
the exact opposite. It took me a long time to refine my writing skills and
organize my ideas into something that I could finally be proud of.
What surprised you most about getting your book
published?
I think I was most surprised by how long the process (necessarily)
took. There’s so much that goes into getting a book ready for the public to enjoy.
And I’m so thankful to have been guided through that process by people who
actually know what they’re doing (unlike me!).
Tell us a little about what you do when you aren’t
writing.
Lately, most of my free time has been spent trying to keep
up with our new baby boy! But when I’m not hanging out with my family, and when
I’m not working at the art gallery, you’ll probably find me tucked away in a
coffee shop somewhere reading a book or studying something new on my computer.
I also enjoy singing, playing the guitar, and trying to put some paint on a
canvas whenever inspiration strikes (which hasn’t been as often as I’d like,
unfortunately).
As a published author, what would you say was the most
pivotal point of your writing life?
There was one section of the book that took me an
embarrassingly long time to complete. As the months went by, however, I
realized that I couldn’t actually include that section anymore because my views
on it had changed too much. But I had spent so much time working on it! That was
a humbling moment that quickly turned into a lesson about integrity and
patience. And that patience was something I desperately needed to help me
persevere through every other writing obstacle along the way.
Where do you get your best ideas and why do you think
that is?
My best ideas definitely come from those coffee shop
mornings I mentioned earlier. I can be slow to get in the “zone” sometimes. But
when I know that I have a handful of beautifully uninterrupted hours ahead of
me, the hesitation leaves, and the wheels start to turn. And even more so when
I temporarily ditch my computer for a plain ol’ pen and pad of paper!
What is the toughest criticism given to you as an author?
“Your sentences are too long and too wordy.” This, of
course, was fantastic criticism. But it also stung quite a bit because it was the
first serious criticism I ever received from an editor. Despite the initial
sting, however, I’m so incredibly thankful for the way it helped me further
develop as an author and turn this book into what it is today. Just be glad you
didn’t have to read the very first draft!
What has been your best accomplishment as a writer?
Finishing this book! I’m afraid my “I’m finally finished!”
moments turned into a bit of a boy-who-cried-wolf scenario. As a self-proclaimed
perfectionist, I always seemed to find something else that needed tweaking. So,
finally letting go was a huge accomplishment for me.
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
I have a couple of ideas that I am beginning to explore, but
they are a long, long, long way from earning the label of “half-finished.”
About the Author
R. L. Lewis was born and raised in Houston, Texas, where he currently resides with his wife, Kayla, their son, and their 11-year-old dog, Beatrice. A couple of years after earning his degree in applied mathematics from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Lewis moved back to his hometown to study painting at the University of Houston. Though he now works in the art industry, he enjoys spending much of his free time on projects that combine his affinity for analytical reasoning with his passion for studying God’s Word.
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