More salt, please

As the last red-orange glow of sunset abandoned the dusty caravan camp to the flickering light of the cooking fire, a generous skin of mulled wine made its way from hand to hand around the fire circle, growing lighter with each pass. The wine was a reward from the merchant who hired the men to guard his camels and trade goods. He had traded in Nisa for three days without a single loss to theft; few of the other merchants could say the same.

As Arash finished telling of his failed attempts to draw the interest of a Nisa girl who had caught his eye at the bazaar, the men burst into laughter and jeering. When they quieted, their leader, Bahram, drained the last drops from the wineskin and turned to his right. “Stephanus, it’s your turn to tell a story, but keep it short. Tomorrow will be a long day.”

Stephanus was on his way to Samarkand to join the believers there. He had joined the Silk Road caravan in Antioch for the safety of a group and the chances it would give him to share along the way. Now, he looked at the faces of the men watching him. Some were expectant and others skeptical. These men were Parthian and more tolerant of other religions than the Romans, but they had long tired of his sharing Jesus at the campfire. Tonight, especially after the wine, an indirect approach would serve best. The night air was already cooling, and he stretched his hands out toward the fire’s yellowing flames as he thought. Looking up, he said, “This is one of the shortest stories I know, but it is also a deep well of truth. I wonder who among you will understand it. ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field’” (Matt. 13:44 NIV).

With that, Stephanus stood and headed for his bedroll. Among the men, there were both farmers and treasure hunters, and he was sure they would argue about the story’s meaning. Perhaps a few of them would ask him about the story later. It was still many days’ travel to Samarkand.

The story above is fictional, but similar scenes undoubtedly played out often during the first centuries of the church. We often want to immediately tell people about Jesus, but sometimes an indirect or slow approach is better. Jesus demonstrated this in his own ministry. He often spoke in parables, knowing that many would not understand—at least not quickly.

In addition to leaving us a supply of stories to use in sharing with others, Jesus’ use of parables also validated the use of fiction in ministry, perhaps especially in evangelism. Of course, we should be clear when we use fiction and not mislead people into thinking a fictional story is literal truth. Yet, like the ancient parables, modern fiction can communicate truth.

How many hearts have been opened by C. S. Lewis’s Narnia books? How many discussions about good and evil have been inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings? Many thousands, possibly millions. How many discussions about Jesus have followed a showing of the Ben Hur movies? Lew Wallace’s book, Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ, has been called “the most influential Christian book written in the nineteenth century.”¹

Outreach through fiction

During the early years of our ministry in Japan, my wife, Karen, and I served at a small Japanese church in Hiroshima under the leadership of Pastor Izuo Nagashima. One day, I listened as a woman in the church spoke with him about her attempts to share Jesus with her sister. “For years, I have tried to share the gospel with her, but she has never been interested. And now she refuses to listen to anything about Jesus. What can I do?”

Pastor Nagashima encouraged her to be patient and keep praying, but then he disappeared upstairs for a moment and came back with a book. He gave it to her and suggested she share it with her sister. “If she likes stories, she might enjoy this one, and it might also make her thirsty to learn more about Jesus.”

Unlike my story about the traveler on the Silk Road, this is a true story, and I saw similar scenes play out several times while serving at that church. Over time, I realized that the books the pastor shared were novels written by Ayako Miura. I asked Pastor Nagashima about this, and he told me that through her novels, Ayako Miura has led more Japanese to Jesus than any missionary.

Later, while I was pastoring Osaka International Church, I experienced the same thing I had seen in Hiroshima. Japanese often came and asked for advice on how to share the gospel with friends and family who had no interest in Christianity. I followed my mentor’s example by suggesting giving gifts of popular books or movies that reveal spiritual truth or include Christian characters, and I often suggested sharing Ayako Miura’s books.

Salt and storytelling

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus told his disciples, “You are the salt of the earth.” One property of salt that is often missed in sermons on this verse is the power of salt to make people thirsty. In the fictional story of the caravan on the Silk Road, Stephanus shared a parable his audience could not yet understand. At that moment, he was salt to them, sharing something that would make the Parthian men thirsty. Ayako Miura’s books share this property of making people thirsty. However, her novels are old, and the settings and lives of her characters are difficult for young people to understand.

Word of Life Press Ministries and other sources stock many books for Christians and seekers, but there is only a limited selection of materials that can act as salt to make those who have no interest thirsty for gospel truth. There are some,² of course, but far too few.

If you know someone with a gift for storytelling, encourage them to use it as the Lord leads. This will not always mean creating works that are overtly Christian. Secular books and films that incorporate Christian characters or themes can be salt to make Japanese thirsty for the gospel. Perhaps someone in your church will become the next Ayako Miura, or maybe you have a few stories of your own that can become salt that awakens a gospel thirst.

I am taking my own advice in this. A few years ago, I began writing science fiction novels with Christian characters. It is my prayer that my books might become salt for my readers.³

1. Amy Lifson, “Ben-Hur: The Book That Shook the World,” Humanities, 30, no. 6, https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2009/novemberdecember/feature/ben-hur-the-book-shook-the-world (November/December 2009).
2. The Christian Today online news site occasionally highlights popular entertainment that includes Christian themes. For an example, see: https://www.christiantoday.co.jp/articles/25921/20180815/movie-mirai-no-mirai.htm (Japanese website, accessed Nov. 26, 2025).
3. The Interstellar Refugees trilogy was published on Amazon in August 2025. I hope to make it available in Japanese next year. See: https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B0FKW1C8QJ (accessed Nov. 26, 2025).
Salt shaker photo by Flickr user Dubravko Sorić
Interstellar Refugees book covers by Karen Ellrick