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First the Good News! God loves you!
Through the power of the Holy Spirit and receptivity of the grace-filled Virgin Mary, God the Father brought forth God the Son -- Jesus Christ -- to forgive you, save you, and restore you to the eternal spiritual life that we all lost when sin originally began in the Garden of Eden.
As Holy Scripture says, “God loved the world so much, he gave his only Son so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16.) The writer of the Gospel of John continued this Good News in the next verse: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but that, through him, the world might be saved.”
The word “gospel” means good news, of course, but here’s the bad news: Christians in the mainline Protestant and Roman Catholic churches have been falling away from the Church, the Body of Christ. Why? With too many reasons to list, a few include secular distractions, disappointment with the Church, ebbing faith, ignorance of the Bible, ignorance of God, and lack of understanding about who Jesus is.
As Jesus himself asked, “Who do you say that I Am?” This question was so vital to the Christian faith that the Gospel of Matthew (16:15) recorded it; the Gospel of Mark (8:29) recorded it; the Gospel of Luke (9:20) recorded it, and Jesus continues to ask the same question of us today: Who do you say Jesus Christ is, was, and will be?
For Christian writers, Christian poets, Christian editors, and Christian publishers, this question must be answered within ourselves before we can present God truly and well in our work. This acceptance of Jesus as the Son of God and the living Christ becomes even more crucial if we hope to draw others to him and into the Church as Jesus asked us to do.
In Matthew 28:19, the risen Christ commanded us, “Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” That’s a big job! But here’s more Good News: We do not do this work alone. The Holy Spirit continually guides and empowers us as we bring the Word of God, Jesus Christ, to others.
How you go about this depends, too, on your God-given talent, personal preferences, and unique background. For instance, if you love the Bible and love children, you may be drawn into writing Bible stories, Bible activities, or other type of church curriculum for young people. If you enjoy the musicality of poetry, you may feel led to write hymn lyrics, inspirational verse, poetic devotionals, or contemporary prayers and psalms. If you often want a good novel or good movie or good television show, you might try novel-writing, screenplay-writing, or scriptwriting with a realistic plot based on the typical ups and downs of Christian faith.
The Good News you bring to others may delivered in bold proclamation or subtle suggestion. Sometimes, for example, your fiction, nonfiction, or poetry might not even mention the name of Jesus, yet your Christian values and Catholic beliefs will still come through. So, whether you proclaim the grace of God and salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ from the top of the tallest building or from the lowest point in a foxhole, you have good work to do!
If you’re just starting to write, you probably need practice more than professional help, so the best way to bring your best to God is simply to write, write, write! The suggestions on Writing Well may help you too. If you’re experimenting with a writing genre that’s new for you though, a critique can speed the learning time as you revise your poem or manuscript. Or, if you’ve already been submitting your work to editors but getting back no’s, a critique can help you to identify the areas that need improvement then offer you practical suggestions to try as you revise. The time involved in carefully reading, evaluating, and responding to your work necessitates a fee of course, but you might like to know that pricing has been set below industry standard.
Whether you write poetry, fiction, or nonfiction, the Good News of Jesus Christ is Emmanuel, which means God is with you -- yesterday, today, and forever. So, with confidence, let’s pray right now for God to lead you, empower you, and direct you into the God-given work you’re to do. Amen? (Amen means so be it or, as Mary expressed her amen and consent, “Let it be unto me as God has said.”)
By remaining open to the workings of the Holy Spirit in your life as did Mary the Mother of Jesus, your poem, your story, your article, your book, your script can also be true to the Word of God, thereby helping to heal, bless, and upbuild the Church -- the Body of Christ on earth.
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