What are you writing on?

What are you writing on?

No, really. What are you writing on?

‘I’m not writing, Lucy, I’m reading! Otherwise, what would I be doing here right now?’

Ah, true, but I’ll wager there is a chance you are doing some writing. Maybe you’re even reading this when you’re supposed to be writing. Such things have been known to happen in the life of a writer.

A little break, a little social media,
A little folding of the hands to rest.

Apologies to Proverbs, both 6:10 and 24:33.

Perhaps you are working on a shopping list on the back of an envelope for your next trip out, a best-selling novel on a computer or an airmail letter by hand. You might be writing a poem on the back of a stone or engraving your autobiography on a grain of rice. Who knows?

You might. I certainly don't.

But consider this: I’m interested to know not just what you are writing about, but what you are writing on.

Why does this matter?

1. It doesn’t.

2. Given 1 (above), let's have a little fun with this idea. You are already in a state of not writing. Perhaps this will inspire you to get back to it. In the Bible lots of things are written on. Tablets of stone, for example. The writing on the wall. People's hearts. I used the trusty Bible Gateway website to look up all the things which I could find which are written or inscribed upon one way or another. 

Very few people will have written on all of these things. They are all things which are written on somewhere in the Bible. Example references are shown below as well if you don't believe me. 

Give yourself a point for each one you have written on:

Less than 1: I recommend learning to write. Make your mark on the world!

More than 0: Hoorah! Whether you're scrubbing a biro list off the back of your hand or still feeling guilty about that limerick in the school toilets, you're in company with biblical writers. Feels odd, huh?

More than 2: You are a serious writer: you don't mess about, but have been known to write to your MP, decorate stones or even paint your house number on your garden gate. Life is far too ordered and you might want to try the odd limerick to shake that feeling off.

More than 5: You may well have run a Sunday School or Holiday Club, be a teacher or run a nursery, or perhaps you have a self-inflicted tattoo on your body somewhere. Don't worry; we don't need to see it. Or maybe you write in books. No bonus points if they are books you have written yourself. 

More than 7: You are super-holy and are either a builder or a biblical scholar; most likely both. Just like Jesus. Before you get too big-headed about this, remember Jesus managed all the writing he is recorded as doing without a pen, and we don't even know what his handwriting was like. Or if he was left-handed. Or what he actually wrote (John 8:6-8). If you do know, send answers on a parchment to MTW headquarters, or comment below.

More than 25: Seriously? For you the writing truly is on the wall:

There once was a dubious liar,

whose pants were aflame and on fire;

(they supposed they could count,

but had guessed an amount),

It transpired it could not be higher.

Oops.

If you wanted some references, here they are:

Lucy Marfleet loves reading, laughing, her husband’s cooking, walking her dog and marvelling at how tall the kids are getting. She teaches Biblical Studies for Spurgeon’s College on their Equipped to Minister course and has a Masters in Theology from the International Baptist Theological Seminary. See her blog at www.lucymarfleet.com