An Angel in the Flame: A Tale of Two Saviors

In An Angel in the Flame, C. Gene Wilkes moves between the stories of Samson and Jesus to explore and illuminate two models of leadership for readers to consider in thinking about their own lives. Jesus’s and Samson’s lives both began with divine messages, both were set apart for God, and both were destined to save their people. Yet Samson was careening and rebellious, always larger-than-life if not always the best thinker, while Jesus was vibrant and spiritually adventurous, celebrating life with others instead of at their expense. By setting up a series of parallelscomparing the two men at prayer, with women, and at death, among other thingsWilkes remembers with readers some of the beloved stories of our Christian heritage and also considers what truly counts as success in answering God’s call to join the life of faith.