Amidst the chaos and the busy-ness of life, sometimes it’s good to change gears a bit. Today we reflect on the life of Lew Wallace, known most for his best-selling book Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. Wallace, a native of Indiana, passed away on February fifteenth, nineteen oh five. Ben-Hur, published in eighteen eighty, has been called “the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth century.” An agnostic at the time he began writing Ben-Hur, Wallace later said, “Long before I was through with my book, I became a believer in God and Christ.”

Many are likely familiar with the story of Ben-Hur from the movies made of this amazing work. However, Ben-Hur deserves to be read. Wallace was extremely intentional about how he portrayed Christ and studied the Gospels to learn of our Savior. In doing so, he came face-to-face with Jesus Christ—and gave us a book of enduring value.