Confronting Ugliness in Ourselves and Our Writing
Sometimes we need to bleed
As writers of faith, we must let the word of God sink into our hearts and minds, and, more importantly, we must let it change us.
Sometimes we even have to let it draw blood.
Let the word of God do its work
We have to let it work in our lives and in our writing, to the point where we are willing to face the ugliness in ourselves and in the world around us. We have to let it work to the point where we are willing to struggle with that ugliness as we experience it in our lives and as we portray it in our work.
As Christian writers, we tend to shy away from this
We want to write only about what is pleasant and wholesome, taking our cue from Philippians 4:8. Our novels have to have a conversion experience by the end of the story. Our poetry has to depict only the beauty of God’s creation. There is nothing wrong with writing about those things, but there is much more to the reality of life. Philippians 4:8 does talk about whatever is true.
I think perhaps we stop too soon.
