Staring at a blank sheet of paper, or even a blank computer screen, can make writing seem like a formidable task, like an impossible journey. It might even seem like being asked to create something out of nothing. Writing that first line can be overwhelming, so much so that a writer might be tempted to give up before even getting started. Instead, consider why humans write in the first place. Look at great writers who came before us…way before us.
King David
The warrior king, David, wrote poetry, inspired by God to build a great nation. His poems showed and still show the world how to relate to God. More than anything, his writings are testimony of a life lived striving after God’s own heart.
Shakespeare
Shakespeare wrote dramatic plays and sonnets, motivated by his constant questioning of what was right and what was wrong in the world, as well as to woo women in his life he was most interested in. More than anything, his writings are focused on loving in a life well-lived.
C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis wrote prose essays and books about his growing belief in Christ through human logic and philosophy. He had always wanted to write, to express his deepest thoughts, but it wasn’t until he accepted Jesus that his writings began to open the eyes of a skeptical world of how really joyful their lives could be…in Christ.
Paul the Apostle
Paul wrote the bulk of the Bible’s New Testament from the confines of a Roman prison. He knew his days on earth were numbered, and with his last breaths, he wanted more than anything to leave the people in the churches he started all over the then-known world with the advice he knew he would not be able to offer in person.
J Alan R
I, known by my pen name J Alan R, who writes both poetry and prose, write as often and because the Holy Spirit breathes words into me to write down and to share with others. It’s that simple for me. I want people to read about the Good News because it’s what God wants from me.
Created in God’s very image, we were created to love and live for our Creator. We are also created to love and live in a community with one another. We are made by God to communicate. We could do so only verbally, but like feathers cast about in the wind, words said aloud are lost to time and must be repeated. But when communication is written down, it becomes a visible legacy that can be saved and shared all over the world across time.
