Commanding Love by Emily Owen

“You can write it for me,” said my nephew, a couple of months ago.

Josiah was holding out a book he’d been given by his parents when he was born. He’d brought it specifically to show me.

A Little Boy After God’s Own Heart, by Jim and Elizabeth George. Josiah had decided that a book ‘like this but about the ten commandments’ would be a good book to add to his library.

“You can write it for me.”

Today is Josiah’s birthday. He’s nine, and he will be receiving a book. A book about the ten commandments. A book written for him, by me.

(ALT Text: To my nephew, Josi James. Thank you for all our interesting conversations, and for being my book-buddy. I love you.)

As I think back to Josiah standing in front of me, saying “you can write it for me”, the overriding thing that strikes me is his confidence. Confidence in me. It didn’t occur to him that I couldn’t or wouldn’t do it.

 David, a man about whom God said, 

‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. 

He will do everything I want him to do.’

Acts 13:22

As we trace God’s heart, in our lives and in our writing, He equips us to do as He wants us to do (Hebrews 13:21).

Will we do it?

When Josiah said ‘you can write it for me’ I confess I laughed. I thought he was joking. But he wasn’t.

Is the book I’ve written for Josiah exactly the same as A Little Boy After God’s Own Heart? No.

Is it what I was asked to do? Yes.

Why have I written it? Because I love my nephew.

As Christian writers, may it be our love for God that prompts and inspires our writing, as we seek to do what He wants us to do.

Josiah’s brother, Micah, celebrated his seventh birthday at the beginning of June. His six-year-old cousin wrote the following in his card:

(ALT Text: I love you so much. Do you? Y/N) 

 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” 

Mark 12:29-31

Josiah is not the only one interested in the commandments – Jesus was.

And Jesus said love your neighbour as yourself.

We have ‘writing neighbours’ in ACW, and we value them and what they do. Do we also value what we ourselves do?

What if we were given a card: ‘I like your writing so much; do you? Y/N'

May we allow ourselves to enjoy our writing and all it brings - God’s gifting in us - just as we celebrate His gifting in others.

God...richly provides all things for us to enjoy.

1 Timothy 6:17