Are we worth reading?

Pastor’s Pen

Are we worth reading?
Why would anyone want to read this Pastor’s Pen? That is the question that keeps popping into my head as I punch on these keys. Honestly, when I consider that people pay good money to purchase papers filled with words written by a stranger with an obvious talent this question becomes more glaring. So why press on? Two reasons I suppose; first, I press on partly out of duty. I chose to write an article every month for our church, and this month is no exception. I also press on because I discovered that writing and living for Christ have clear similarities.
People choose to read words organized on a screen or piece of paper because people desire experience. Good writing provides the reader an opportunity to experience something new, fresh, different, challenging or unique. The most gifted writers are those whose works draw readers back again and again because they believe that there remains more within the pages to discover. For example, I’ve read, “The Hobbit” several times and am always fascinated to discover new experiences within the story that I failed to see or was unable to see in my previous reading. The writing of an amateur, or one who is a writer in name only, leaves the reader less than satisfied, even empty. So, the work of a novice rarely gets read more than once, if at all, because there is no reward, nothing to experience, for the effort invested in the reading. To be truthful, it is a rather arrogant position that suggests that merely stamping words on a page or screen is all one needs to do in order to obligate others to read his stuff. A pastor might assume, “I’m the pastor of this church, the least the congregation should do is take the time to read my newsletter article. After all, I spent my precious time writing this article for them.”
Why should they? Is the precious time of the poor congregant who reads the article going to be well spent? Will the life of that person be edified; will that person experience something new within the reading, something that they have never experienced before? If the answer to either of those last two questions is not a resounding yes, then no writer should expect any reader to invest in his writing, no matter how long it might have taken him to write it. Readers deserve to experience something worthwhile from every work that they choose to read.
The analogy to the Christian faith is very simple. What do people experience when they read the life of a Christian? When a curious observer looks into the pages of a Christian’s life will he read something of value, something unique, something that stirs the soul and protests against the daily grind of mediocrity?
What a joy it would be to discover that a number of people read this article, were inspired as a result and anticipated, with great joy, the next publication. But, if the only things I offer the reader are words on a page then hope as I may, I should never expect such an outcome. People are looking for real content; content that is unusual to the barrage of the daily, emotionless experiences of life. Since this is true of writing how much more so for the Christian life?
Scripture defines Jesus as THE WORD OF GOD in the flesh (John 1:14). Although the depth of this truth is infinite, the least that may be said is that Jesus, through his unique life, revealed to the world the very content of the word of God. He did not come to be lifeless words on a dull page leaving every reader untouched, but He came to be the very content and meaning of the Word of God lived out in the day in day out grind of every day Jewish life. His was a life rich in meaning, full of flavor, profound in experience and redemptive in confrontation; in short, His is a life worth every minute reading over and over again.
The life of every Christian ought to possess a brightening reflection of His life. A Christian’s life should also be one that is worth reading, worth studying, worth considering over and over because it is one of content and purpose.
Seeking to write and live with the content of the Person of Christ,
Pastor Gibbs