I used to write as a form of expression. I've always enjoyed writing because it enables a person to encapsulate a mood on any particular day. But ask almost any writer, and they'll tell you that their work is never good enough. I look back at a lot of my old writings, rarely impressed, often embarrassed, about how I thought then in comparison to how I think now. Lately, I've blogged for the purpose of positively influencing the lives of my readers. I don't often write to entertain anymore. I've always been my biggest critic, and as I examine my past writing, I notice a pattern. The first thing I often notice is the immaturity of my past self, in certain tones, thoughts or words. The thing that blows me away is that though I've always been hard on myself (I used to be what they call a "perfectionist"), there are certain aspects of my writing I can look at and wouldn't change to this very day. Those words, the ones I'm proud of, have one thing in common: I can't take credit for them. I wondered today why anyone would ever take the time to read what I've written while the word of God is in print. Everything worthwhile that I've ever written has it's roots in the Bible. Given that some reading my blog may have little respect for the Bible but some respect for me, I feel that it's necessary to make this point.
I write to change lives because I'm grateful that mine has been changed. I write in hopes that those reading will be seeking truth, that which is not relative but has always been absolute. I write to share the joy that I've been freely given; a joy that doesn't stop at me.
I'm confident there is no person on the face of the earth that is more blessed than myself. The Bible promises that Christians are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm (Ephesians 1:3), and you can't have more than that. I'm reminded of a C.S. Lewis quote that "he who has God and everything else has no more than he who has God only." As well as C.S. Lewis was able to articulate deep truths, his writings were nothing new either, simply an intellectual's perspective on the truth of the Bible.
I've been reading a lot of material on early christian writings for school this quarter. It's crazy how so many of the deep thinkers of the first few centuries AD had such varying theologies. There was not a lack of education among early church fathers, leaving so many of these men with diverse reputations. It's equally easy for those who study church history to come away with a variety of views in regard to some of the early well known Christians. This got me to thinking how I'll be remembered when I'm dead and gone for centuries (if Jesus doesn't come back first). I don't want to be remembered by the depth of my theological thinking or for how well I could articulate my views on a passage of scripture. I want to be remembered as someone who reflected the love of Jesus Christ his Savior in the way he lived his life. I want to be remembered as someone who sacrificed for the well being of others. I don't desire for people to look back and see Isaac as someone who could win a debate about the existence of God. I want people to remember Isaac as the person who would humble himself to serve anyone for the honor of his Savior. My words only carry weight if they're reinforced by the way I live, and that is precisely why the words of Jesus are more important than the words of any other man to have walked this earth. It's easy to read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 and speak of how it's a tremendous idealistic moral sermon, but when you understand the life of the man who spoke those words, they become powerful. I don't aspire to be as great of a philosopher as Socrates or Plato. Nor do I desire to be as intellectual as C.S. Lewis or Origen. I long to be as loving, humble, and passionate as Jesus the Christ, the one man who enforced every good word he ever spoke with the way that he lived. I write to honor my Lord Jesus, to share what he's doing in my life, to give others hope of what he can and will do in theirs.
