A calling is an individualized thing.

If you think you might have a calling on your life (and if you’re a Jesus-follower, you definitely do!), the first and best thing to do is to pray and ask the Lord for guidance on how He wants you to pursue it. Being called to write has many variables (fiction or non-fiction? encouraging, exhorting, evangelizing? for publication or an audience of One?), and you need to seek His heart about it.

If you’ve done that and now you’re here, welcome! Here is my perspective.

When familiar verses make a fresh impressions

I understood that I was called to write when the parable of the talents lodged itself in my heart. In the parable, of course, a “talent” is a monetary unit. That symbol became important for what I would later learn about using my gifts for God’s kingdom.

It’s exciting when a verse from a familiar Bible passage lands on my heart in a brand new way. Those fresh insights don’t come all the time, but when they do, I have to marvel at God’s goodness. I know I had read Matthew 13 before — maybe a dozen times! — and yet it held for me a message more like a personal note stuck between the pages of my Bible than a line of ancient text.

I’d already observed that Jesus’ method of teaching through parables is instructive for Christian fiction writers. Storytelling is our ministry, after all. Jesus’ stories are loaded with symbolism, subtlety, and cultural relevance. The Bible records His miracles of feeding the crowds of 4000 and 5000 men, not counting women and children. I’m speculating, but imagine how great He must have been to listen to that so many people preferred hanging on His words than going home to feed themselves.

But back to the stories. I read the familiar words of the parables of the good soil, the wheat and the tares, the pearl of great price and others.

Then, bam

Matthew 13:51-52 hit me right between the eyes.

“Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes.”

And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

Wow! What a fantastic word for those of us who have turned our creativity over to our Creator! When we have understood His Word, when we have accepted His lavishing on us the riches of His grace (see Ephesians 1:7-8), we can bring out of our treasure things new and old.

What treasure? Everything you’ve ever gone through. The questions you’ve asked, the prayers you’ve prayed, the doubts you’ve harbored. Victories, defeats, pleasures, pressures. The good and bad, the best and worst. Everything. You have a storehouse of treasures, and with God, through His abundant gifts of creativity and language and metaphor and beauty, you can bring them out, multiply them, and fashion them into new things.

Called to write?

Here are some thoughts on pursuing that calling:

Write what you understand.

The old line, “Write what you know,” gets recast in a new mold when Jesus’ question is applied. Have you understood all these things? Have you not only knowledge about your subject, but wisdom? Proverbs 3:13-14 says, “How blessed is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding. For her profit is better than the profit of silver and her gain better than fine gold.”

I once thought seeking experience would broaden the depth of my writing — but if I fail to derive understanding from those experiences, writing fictionalized versions of them leaves me little better than a shady reporter. To increase the storehouse of treasure from which you will be bringing out things new and old, seek understanding of Biblical principles as well as the significance of facts, experiences, and emotions.

Think about what it means to be a head of household.

The scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is “like a head of a household,” but what does that mean, exactly? According to Holman Bible Dictionary, “‘Household’ or ‘house’ … may point to the property or the management of the affairs and belongings of a family or clan” (673). It’s a position of responsibility. With the authority to make “withdrawals” from my treasure comes the duty to spend it wisely. Am I using it to create assets, or liabilities?

Define “things new and old.”

A new premise folded around an old message. A new insight into Scripture played out in a retelling of an old story. A speculative interpretation of things unseen. A love story laden with symbols of the Almighty. Creativity and truth are not mutually exclusive, and that our Creator God allows us to partake in creative efforts amazes me. Indeed, being called to write mean being invited into this work. You’ve been specially commissioned!

My grandmother once told me how her grandmother saved string for a second use, crocheting it into dishtowels. Practical, yes, but I also see it as a beautiful metaphor, because when story and theme are skillfully woven, something old becomes something new, reminiscent of salvation and of Christ’s ultimate victory.

Your journey is unique.

Everyone understands their calling in their own way. What matters is the whole-hearted pursuit of God’s will, whether you’re called to write or any other endeavor. As recorded by the Apostle John in Revelation 21:5, “And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ And He said, ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true.'”

 

 

An earlier version of this post appeared with the title “Bringing Things New and Old Out of Your Treasure.”

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I write dual timeline novels from a Christian worldview. Interested? Learn more on my Books page!