Why We Write

Day One

Dear Reader,

You have asked why we write and I would like to answer you succinctly with such a phrase as, “To make our joy complete,” but feel you deserve more than a biblical brush-off. Let’s begin with a mutual understanding regarding the need for written communication. You see, in the beginning, the earth was void of communication because it lacked life, whose subsequent birth, which came by a “word,” necessitated continuous intercession between living beings (Heb 11:3, Gen 1:1-3). What is spoken provides the eternal foundation for what is written and subsequently creates a paradigm for communication wherein truth is revealed by mouth but refined by the written word. I spoke and my words lived. I wrote and my words will live forever. The spoken word is second hand coming by a voice other than your own, but when we read the word we claim ownership because we hear it uttered in our own tongue. We write so that what is read may be eternal and may also be your own.

With Regards,

The Author

Day 2

Dear Servant,

You have called yourself thus and have replied with this question, “Why the Bible?” I imagine you mean to ask why I mainly quote the Word and not new revelations or thethoughts of contemporary saints (Isa 8:20). The answer is simple, if you are willing to accept this analogy. I wrote my words as a “character sketch” of a person I know well(John 5:39,40; Luk 24:27). Every thought in the library is a molecule of the whole person I wish to portray. You ask why I excluded what you thought primal or included what critics considered superfluous, but you are asking the wrong thing. It’s like asking why Moby Dick isn’t from the whale’s perspective or why a love letter doesn’t say, “I love you,” or why the doctor’s report doesn’t use the word, “miracle,” or why this email isn’t more appealing to your tastes. The answer is the author. He wrote it to point to a person. He wrote it to you so you would follow the finger. The inclusion of outsiders would detract from the whole while the exclusion of the necessary would negate the rest. We write that you may see the author.

Sincerely,

The Author

Day 3

Dear Son,

You ask me about the validity of the Word because you are concerned that the passing of the text between multiple human hands will have tainted the purity of what was originally uttered. It is true that human thought often muddles the simplicity of Truth, but without man’s interaction, the eternal words will fade into perpetual obscurity (1Thes 2:4,13). That is, truth must be humanized if it wishes to lead the way to life. This Truth made man must live the way that points to the Author through the muck of sinful filth that surrounds Him (Jhn 14:6). Those who receive this Gospel from the hands of sinful men, see the Truth that shines as bright as one lone light in the blackest darkness. The words they read are accepted as either the light leading themthrough the darkness or the sinful utterances of men deceiving them with fables of faith, hope and love. Either the man in the text is a product of sinners’ creation or He is the Savior from sinful creations. The written word is valid because I said it is (2Tim3:16, 2Pet 1:20, Mt 24:35, Ps 33:4). We wrote the Truth by the hands of sinners so that sinners might see the hand of God.

Lovingly,

The Author

Day 4

Dear Friend,

You ask me why we write but the real question is why should you? The word was written to reveal the Author. It was written to you as a revelation of yourself. I wrote it by the pen of saints like you who felt it necessary to provide their brothers and sisters what was needed for their edification (2Pet 1:20, 1Thes 2:13). What you write must be inspired by what they wrote but will never equate in value because it is not what the Author breathed. Their word is my word. Your words ought to be my words repackaged and presented as your thoughts about me. You must write to your friends because I have written to you. We have written to you and you must write to them because it is through this process that you become more like me.

Your friend,

The Author

Day 5

Dear Mike,

We know that what makes writing great is not the quality of the work but the reception of the readers. Though the Word is written to “those who believe” and is rejected by those who do not, the individual men inspired to write the books typically focused their attention on few and sometimes even one. That is, they didn’t write to a broad, undefined audience but to one whom they believed would receive it. One example of this is Luke’s Gospel and the book of Acts addressed to Theophilus. It was written to one and yet received by many. When you write, just as when you disciple, focus on one person. My word was entrusted to you. Share your words with those you love. Write, because in so doing you show yourself their friends.

Your Lord and God,

The Author