"Why Write?" Part One of Five Blogs on Writing

 

Saint Paul, the Apostle, sailed from Attalia

Why Write? (This is the first of five blog posts about writing.)

“Why write?” some people ask.

Contrast words and pictures. The scene below is of the Bay of Attalia (today Antalya, located in Southern Turkey). At the end of Paul’s first missionary journey, he left Attalia on his way back to Antioch, Syria. How many people enjoyed Attalia? Only a tiny percentage of the world’s population will ever catch a glimpse of this lovely Mediterranean city. Even in Turkey, only about 20% come here. But think of Paul’s writings! Millions have read of Paul being in Attalia at the end of his First Missionary Journey. The New Testament is available in 80% of the world’s population. Millions of Christians read his letters. Christian Churches owe much to Paul, and all the writers of the Old and New Testaments. Words travel through space and time. Words matter. Phrases hold people together. Writings come back to people. Sometimes in dreams. In conversations. In music and in poems.

Although words may be the most fragile “things” in the world, thoughts speed from one person to another. Strong men wield power with a single word. The Lord told Daniel, “But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.” (Daniel 12:4) Like him, all the other authors of the Bible received a mandate to write.

Why write? My purpose is: “To inspire leaders to serve through godliness.” This phrase encapsulates a life-long goal. It summarizes 50 years of blog posts, letters, documents, biographies, and novels.

The next question for my next blog in this series is: “Why write a novel?