 |
| Melinda Viergever Inman |
Why
Do You Write?
Why do you write? Your answer determines all the rest. Most
of us might respond that we don’t even know how we feel or think about a matter
until we’ve written our way around and through it. That would be true of most
writers. But that’s not what I’m asking.
Why do you feel that writing is your mission? Why are you
pursuing the serious writing life? What is your purpose in writing for the
public eye? Is writing your calling?
Think about that a moment, for writing is one of the most
challenging, underpaid, “white-collar” occupations around. Is it worth it? Your
reason must be significant because this job will cost you. You may not even
break even.
We share a unique calling, we who gather here. We take our
writing seriously, for we write in a world that ingests words twenty-four hours
a day. Our words constantly pour out upon gadgets, phones, tablets, and
computers all over the world. This is where God has placed us in history. We
were born for such a time as this.
Why do we write? Because the Lord has called us to write for
him.
We seek to promote his ways and his words. We long to reveal
his story, his work, and his transformation of human lives. We proclaim his
praise and herald his character and goodness.
The book of Ecclesiastes ends with advice that looks back on
a life, admonition to remember our Creator in our youth, before the days of
trouble come when our eyes, our ears, our brains, and our bodies will wear out.
Then, we may not be able to write the words that proclaim God’s truth. Then,
our eyesight may fail, and our ability to record his words to uplift others may
dim.
If God has called you to write, I urge you to seize each day
now as a gift from God and to write with all your might, whether you make any
money or not. This is our ministry. Do not lose heart! Use your gift to the
best of your ability to proclaim our Savior’s character, love, grace, and
salvation to others. This is our only opportunity.
The words recorded within the pages of Scripture and
exposited to us in sermons and teaching - these words goad us onward, impelling
us to write, inspiring us to pen words that tell stories unveiling our Savior.
Lest we veer a little too far this way or that, we write
with precision, guarding our words with care, preventing them from adding beyond
what God has said. God’s words are nailed down. We must not deviate into false
teaching.
Our task is exhausting. We often wonder how we can keep
going.
The conclusion, the motivator, is the knowledge that we will
one day stand before God and give a verbal account for our words. We answer to
him now and will answer to him in the future for how we use the gift and the
calling he has given us. Will we press on when the money is low, the body is
weary, and the discouragement is high?
I say, “Be certain of your calling, and then, dear writer,
press on!”
May we heed these words of wisdom, written by one who made
many mistakes along the way:
“The words of the wise are like goads, their collected
sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd. Be warned, my son, of
anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much
study wearies the body. Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the
matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all
mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden
thing, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:11-14 NIV).
 |
| Melinda V Inman, Author of: Refuge; Fallen; and No Longer Alone |
Raised on the Oklahoma plains in a storytelling family,
Melinda Viergever Inman now spins tales from her writer’s cave in the Midwest.
Her faith-filled fiction illustrates our human story, wrestling with our
brokenness and the storms that wreak havoc in our lives. Find her weekly at http://MelindaInman.com/blog/. To
find her work and to be notified of future published novels, follow her at http://bit.ly/MelindasBooks/.
Connections:
