“In the presence of God who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ…”—First Timothy 6: 13-14 (RSV).
My philosophy regarding
my writing echoes my philosophy of care when I was in pastoral and chaplaincy
work. It is to encourage people as we journey through life together in spite of
hardship, sorrow or disappointment in the times we live in. Even in a secular
culture like Canada the apostle Paul’s charge to the younger minister holds
true. “…I charge you to keep the commandment unstained and
free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ…”
In being called
to be writers we can encourage each other to persevere in whatever area of writing
we are involved in. This encouragement, of course, can also be giving to other
creatives. We must never give up.
I see Pontius
Pilate as representing the secular mindset of when Jesus lived. This mindset
also matches the growing and lost secularism of our day. The truth of God is
alive and well but most people reject it. Pontius Pilate had the Truth before him
yet rejected it.
I love my fellow
writers. I have been encouraged by many writers especially those of the
InScribe writer family. In turn I want to encourage and spur them on. I know if
it wasn’t for the blessing of other writers my words might not come to
fruition. We need each other.
I experienced a
sense of sadness when I read Ruth Snyder’s final message as InScribe President.
She has been President, I believe, since I joined InScribe a few years ago. I
sincerely appreciate in her final message as President she encouraged us to spur
each other on (FellowScript, Summer 2018 edition).
Ruth’s encouragement reminds me we may be more
effective in bringing a message of hope if we realize we are not alone in our
craft. We are even more determined to influence our society due to the power of
encouraging other writers. In this realization we know our writing has meaning
and purpose.
Perhaps as you
read this post you are in need of encouragement. You sit in front of your
computer to write and words are slow to come. The ones you put on to a page
lack meaning and are weak. You get up from your computer and look out a window
in hope of giving your mind a rest. This effort to write is all devoid of joy
and you are downhearted. I imagine many of us experience this from time to
time.
My tendency is to
be a loner when I create a story. Perhaps this is due to being an introvert by
nature. I’m not shy but I am an introvert. I’m at a point in my life where I
enjoy sharing my work with other writers to critique. It’s worth it in the long
run and it spurs me on.
I love to
encourage other writers. It is a privilege to encourage another writer when I’m
asked to critique a work in progress. Is this a joy to you as well my reader
friend? What a privilege it is to be a writer.
Secularism may be
the call of today but it is also a time when we as writers who are Christian
continue to bring stories, articles, and messages of abiding hope to people.
Let us not be shaken by the darkness and negativity so prevalent in a society
searching for meaning and purpose. Let our writing be pleasing, unstained and free from reproach all in the name of
the One we serve. We are in this life together and we are not alone.
Such an important message to remember we are not alone and the importance of community especially as writers!
ReplyDeleteHi Lynn. To me, knowing we are in this together makes our writing all the more worthwhile and meaningful.
DeleteWhat a comfort and joy to know we're not alone, that we are in this writing journey together. Thanks, Alan, for your encouraging post today.
ReplyDeleteHi Brenda. We encourage each other and it is a joy. Keep writing my friend. :)
DeleteYour comment about Pilate rejecting the truth in front of him was a new perspective on todays secularism for me. You have been one who has encourage me with your reflective posts and your comments on my own posts many times. Thank you for that.
ReplyDeleteHi Gloria. Thank you for the encouragement regarding my posts. I think at times God's people may feel lost in the growing adversity to the holy in our day. North America as a whole is without excuse if it continues to reject His truth. On the other hand, God loves the whole world. If nothing else, we can continue to call people through our loving actions for them to turn to Him. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Alan, for another blog on thought-provoking matters--truth, and encouragement on the positive and this juxtaposed with secularism, which is all too prevalent in today's society. Working together, we can encourage one another not ". . . to become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:9 NIV)
ReplyDeleteHi Sharon. Yes, while perhaps in the flesh we can become weary even of our contemporary age, our need to love and encourage each other etc. never grows old.
ReplyDelete