Sunday, March 14, 2004

Are We All Writers?

Are We All Writers?

George Rusky
March 2004

As a member of the CWG (Christian Writers Group) on line, I receive a good number of various messages.
The authors of them tell us about their problems, ask for advice or help, share some information, and require critique for their stories.
As it generally goes in the group, somebody asks a question, and if the members of CWG find the subject interesting, or it inspires them to take part in the talk, they send their messages to the group, thus a discussion begins.

Recently, a ‘hot’ discussion has started around the subject Called to write.
Nearly every active member of the group shaped their understanding of what they felt the Lord had called them to write for.

As it appeared, some authors wrote in the field of business, others in fantasy. A number of writers honestly confessed they have been just called to write and were asking for advice how to set off.
The messages, however, can sometimes lead to rather unpredictable discoveries, as it was in the case of Mr.’s N. e- mail.

After a short review of other writers’ ideas about the subject, he briefly introduced himself, saying he had not been a regular contributor to on-line discussions, but this time he “felt obliged to share this with the rest of the group.”
His call to write Mr. N. saw in serving the Lord in writing horror books and carrying out duties of a Chairman of an international organization, a union of writers of horror literature.
“I received this call from the Lord, who clearly let me see my mission in writing horror books,” he wrote on.

“Well,” I said to myself, “Live and learn!”
The message made me thing about it.

I got used to reading the e-mails like “The Lord called me to write. Hey, guys, what to write about?”
Or “ How long should be the sentences and the paragraphs of the story to be approved by editors and published?”

I could go on with the extracts of this kind; there’ve been lots of them.
But this time I didn’t know what to think!
Could we assume that Jesus Christ calls to write horror books?
Could He call to write about violence, sex, pornography, and such like?!
How shall we accept then Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 6:9,10:
” Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind.
Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
Well, it is not written about authors of horror books, though.

What does worry me in all these sharing, that their authors do not realize one crucial point: when God chooses us, His servants, for His mission it is a great honor for us and privilege to be His part-takers. It’s an awesome responsibility too.

Moreover, when it does happen, He gives all necessary ‘instructions’ for carrying out His divine task. Whether we want it or we don’t, we are just nominated to do what our heavenly Father wants us to do. Period.
The Bible is full of such examples. Let’s recall just a few of them, shall we?

Moses,
“And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? (Ex.3:11)
The Father’s answer in the next twelfth verse:“ And he said, Certainly I will be with thee;…”
From that moment onwards, the Father ‘tutors’ Moses till the day, when Moses, performed everything for which he had been brought into this world.

David.
Why was he chosen by our creator to fulfill His intentions? We read:
” But the LORD said unto Samuel… for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” (1Samuel 16:7)
From that moment onwards the Father is with David, teaching the king how to live and serve his nation.

Hosea.
Can we, men, imagine someone from our dearest tell us to marry a harlot?
What if our father would say that?
“And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms… “ (Hosea 1:2)
Hosea accepts this command from the Father in Heaven with no questions asked:
“So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.”
From that moment onwards God leads Hosea all along the way telling him what to do.

Jonah.
When God calls Jonah to preach repentance to the Ninevites, the latter turns down the assignment and tries to flee. But God is serious about His command. He has appointed Jonah, and that means there’s only one way for him - to follow God’s will.

Habakkuk.
The Lord God instructs Habakkuk what to write and how to write:
“And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.” (Habakkuk 2:2)
Habakkuk acknowledges the command from the LORD with gladness:
“Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. (3:18)

Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother.
Jesus said: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matt.4:19)
From that time onwards the Lord leads them till the last breathe of their lives.

Saul from Tarsus.
The Lord talks to Saul, on the way to Damascus:
“And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.”(Acts 9:6)
From that moment the Lord had been with Saul-Paul teaching him what to say, what to do, and what to write till the day of Paul’s death.

These are just a few well-known names from the Bible.
How many Christians do we know, that, having heard the voice of the Lord, answered the call and gave their lives to the Lord?
I’m sure, everyone can tell us about some.

So, what is in it for us?

We all like talking about our position in the body of Christ, referring to the epistle to the Ephesians 4:11 “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;” or: 1 Corinthians 12:28 “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.”

The gifts of the Lord are an obligatory topic of our Bible studies.
We also try to place ourselves in the church of the Lord according to the call we have received (or, rather, we think, we have).

There’s nothing wrong about it, is there?
“But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:7) (italics are added)

Grace is given, dear brethrens!

The Lord gives the gifts and provides everything for the realization of His gifts.
What is grace for a pastor? His flock!
What is grace for an elder? Wisdom for governing the church.
What is grace for the teacher? Clear delivering of the message of the Lord.
What is grace for the healer? To heal the body and heart of a sinner.

What is grace for a Christian writer…?
To answer the call of the Lord, to be His instrument by performing His Father’s will of
saving sinners, and to do that thru our writing!

The Father sent His son to the world to save the world!
We have no right to write about anything except this theme.
Isn’t it what we are here in the world for?

We are pastors -our readers are our flock.
We are the light to the world -we call sinners to repent and give their hearts to the Lord.
We are elders -we look after our readership.
We are evangelists -we educate our readers according to the word of God.
We are teachers-we teach our readers the God’s truth.
We are translators -in our writings we help readers to understand the scriptures better...
These are just few tasks we have to carry out, if we really claim to be Christian writers.

In his work Telling the Truth Dr. Marvin Olasky wrote:
“If even fifty new, talented, biblically directed journalists were to emerge in America during the next few years, the revitalization of Christian Journalism would be well under way…”
My thoughts are interrupted by a nice melody coming out from my computer: another e-message has been delivered.
It says: ”Hi, I’m new to the group. I feel God called me to write…”

I close my eyes and pray the Lord that this new called writer will say she desires to write for His glory!
Amen!