Here's a tweet that was brought to my attention this weekend:

"Maybe I'm naive, but I don't give a lot of worry to gatekeepers. Books often get where they need to be anyway. Love wins, freedom spreads."

The author of this tweet has a book that is about to be released. Just think for a moment about how exciting it must be for an author when the manuscript that he or she has been laboring over, mostly in private, is about to be released as a book for all to read. You would think that he3 would have a lot of wonderful things to say about it. Something seems amiss when the author is extremely defensive before the book is even released.

And you surely wouldn't expect blog posts that criticize those who may critique your book, would you? Would you? This is a red flag for me as a reader. But it really isn't anything new. It seems to even be a marketing technique. It says, "My book is going to be controversial in the kind of way that upsets orthodox, discerning readers. But I am a good person with a good story. So if anyone challenges the content, or lack there of, in my writing, he or she must be unloving." And boom; you have yourself a best seller.

Now if a privately owned Christian bookstore decides not to carry your book because of the content of its teaching, that is their prerogative. Are they being gatekeepers? Maybe so. If someone gives it a critical review online, I'm not so sure that is gatekeeping. But is it bad to be a gatekeeper? There are certain things that I will not allow in my home, and that is my responsibility as a parent. The Lord appointed two angels to guard Eden after Adam and Eve were banished. These "gatekeepers" were actually doing a godly duty, keeping Adam and Eve from eating from the tree of life in their sinful state. I would say that there are times when gatekeeping is necessary.

When it comes to books, we can all decide for ourselves what we will buy and what we will read. But how is it that love wins? Does love win when we read without discernment, when we let every claim about God, his Word, and man in the gate of acceptance? Is that how love wins? Does love win when we welcome all theology? Or does love win by defeating all evil, defeating every lie, and bringing the entire bride of Christ to the great feast that he is preparing? Love won on the cross when God's Son died in place of all those his Father gave him. Love wins every time a sinner sees his lost condition, that he has been suppressing the truth in unrighteousness, and is given eyes to see the One who has fulfilled all righteousness. Love wins when we are given the faith to see why holiness matters. Love wins when a heart of stone is turned to repentance. Love wins finally when we can behold the Son of God in his entire splendor. There we will see him in all his true beauty. Love wins when truth wins. 

My ultimate freedom is not in my choice of books. I long for that ultimate freedom that I will have in eternity, when I will be free from sin. I won't have to worry about separating the truth from the lie, because I will only being living in 100% pure truth. I will no longer battle with the sin of the flesh. I will be made perfectly holy, set apart to worship my Savior forever. Then there will be no need for a gatekeeper.