The Fruits of the Spirit for Writers (Part One) by Rebecca Seaton
The Fruits of the Spirit for Writers (Part
One) by Rebecca Seaton
Following on from looking at how the deadly sins apply to writers, I wanted to share encouragement from the fruits of the Spirit. There’s so much in what God provides for us, so I’ll start with love, joy, peace and forbearance.
Love enables us to look at our writing differently. If we see our writing through a lens of love for God and his creation, we treat our work, events, fellow writers and audience very differently than we might otherwise. For me, the other gifts follow on from this. ‘In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had.’ Philippians 2:5.
A godly joy is the kind of joy that goes beyond human understanding. Hebrews 12;2 says, ‘…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. If Jesus had could focus on joy whilst on the cross then we too can experience joy even when there isn’t an obvious reason to. It’s not dependent on sales!
God also enables us to find peace
amongst the trials and tribulations of being a writer. This peace is not just
for us but for those around us. I have been blessed by many Christian writers
who have transferred their peace to me. This comes from being in a place of
security and knowing that God’s love is enough for all of us.
Next month: kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control.
#amwriting #amwritingfantasy #ACW
Rebecca earned second place in the 2017-18 Pen to
Print Book Challenge with her first novel, A Silent Song. She is currently working
on a fantasy trilogy involving a prophet, a dodgy queen and a powerful relic.
A good theme, Rebecca. Our Ladies' Bible study group is looking at the gifts of the Spirit.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this. We all definitely need all these and more! Blessings.
ReplyDeleteJoy that is not dependent on book sales? Timely reminder!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this and for the reminder that God is within us
ReplyDeleteSome while ago, when I had recently joined the ACW Facebook group, a lengthy discussion developed on the definition of 'Christian Writer'. Was this meaning someone who wrote for the 'Christian market' and published with 'Christian publishing houses' or did it maybe mean that whatever we wrote, and however our books were published, the underlying viewpoint was a Christian view of the world?
ReplyDeleteYour point about Love is relevant here: perhaps both can be a description of 'Christian' writers: but the key adjective, 'Christian', is best found across the board, and can equally be applied. Indeed, to write as a Christian, from Christ's world view, but heading for the mainstream market, there is an opportunity to present our story, our characters, and our reasons behind writing in such a way as to be a witness to Christ, not by being 'preachy' but in how we handle both the characters/subject and tell the story and how we deal with 'getting' published and whether we earn much from it.
What Joy said!
ReplyDelete