There’s a whole lot of ugliness going on in this world. War, political infighting, abuse. It’s enough to make a Christian throw his or her hands up and move to a remote cabin in the mountains, or at least to a van down by the river.
But guess what . . . Jesus doesn’t want us to do that. On the contrary, He wants us to live and function in the middle of all the ugly.
When I first felt God calling me to be a Christian writer, I was full of questions. What would I write? How/when/where could I get published? How long would it take me to replace Max Lucado on the bestseller lists? Still waiting on that last one.
At the time I discovered singer Sara Groves’ music (I’ve mentioned her before—she’s amazing) and her song Add to the Beauty. The lyrics of that song gave me a laser focus as a writer:
I want to add to the beauty
To tell a better story
I want to shine with the light
That’s burning inside
That was it! That was to be my purpose as a Christian who is a writer: to add to the beauty. That doesn’t mean I ignore the struggles or problems of life, but it does mean I can point readers to the Hope that exists beyond the strife.
In the years since my revelation, I’ve written standardized test questions, sports stories, textbook summaries, and, yes, even devotionals and other Christian works. Did I include a sermon in the middle of my report on the regional cross country meet? No. Did I write test questions about the Beatitudes? No. But I wrote those pieces with God’s inspiration, and hopefully the light shined through.
I have never done this before on this blog, but I am going to issue a challenge to you wonderful readers: go out and add to the beauty this week. Write something inspirational. Send an encouraging note to a friend. For goodness sake, share a picture of your dinner or a funny cat video on social media instead of a rant. Whatever the case, find the beauty and add to it. Our world needs your influence now more than ever.
In my sternest teacher voice: “There will be a test over this assignment . . . someday!”
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1 Comment
Truth. I totally agree with this. It is too easy to get swept away into all the discord. Let’s focus on all the “good” and let His light shine forth! And yes, let’s be beautiful. Or lovely, as the case may be : )