November 2017
sitting. We may have to write, rewrite, alter, delete, add,
change, improve the language, insert pictures, etc. Some
magazines are so full of grammar and spelling mistakes
that make one loathe to read them. Sometimes we have to
collect material for the subject and then organize it. That's
what Luke did. After gathering material, he had the big job
of putting the pieces “in order,” into an unifying whole,
making it easy for the reader to grasp. “We do not write to
you anything you cannot read or understand,” writes Paul
(2 Cor 1:13).
While writing we must have the reader in mind.
Matthew had the Jews in mind and Mark the Gentiles.
Some may write to children while others target youth.
Some write for mature believers and some for young
believers. Some things in the scholarly Paul's letters were
difficult for the fisherman Peter to understand (2 Pet
3:15). The Greek and barbarian must be catered to. The
matter must touch the heart of the reader and not just the
head. The writing must have, not just a body but a soul and
a spirit.
God told Habbabuk to, “Write the Vision and make
it Plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.” God's
messages must be succinctly spelt out. Moses and the
elders commanded the people, when they had crossed the
Jordan into Canaan, to set up “large stones” and “coat
them with plaster” and “write very clearly” all the words
of the law (Dt 27:1-8). They wanted the law to be written
in large letters, standing bright against the plaster
background (white wash with lime), very clearly, so that
people need not strain to read it. God wanted Isaiah to take
a “large scroll” and write on it (Isa 8:1). May be those days
the prophets wrote and put it up in the temple or public
places for all to read. “See what large letters I use, as I
write to you with my own hand,” wrote Paul. His writings
had a signature effect (2 Thess 3:17). He had the habit of
setting forth the truth “plainly” so that the reader would
not be confused in any way (2 Cor 4:2).
The writer should always remember that his writing
cannot be as authoritative as the Bible. Words like, “The
Lord told me to write this,” should be avoided. The days
of “Thus saith the Lord,” are over. The feeling that we are
fallible human beings keeps us humble. The writer must
receive criticism humbly and respond politely.
The written vision spurred Habbakuk's readers to
action. It made them run. Martin Luther wrote his 95
theses and nailed it to the church door. People started to
run after reading it and it makes us run even today. “The
fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster
of the wall, near the lampstand in the roy