Writings are spawned by those who are so inspired by a particular cause that it simply must be shared.  No matter the genre, writing is fueled by inspiration, fervor and passion that compel another to run.  Writers may write to proliferate knowledge, provide entertainment, to enlighten, encourage or rebuke.  Even the novelist who generates tales of romance and intrigue is fed by a compelling story that must be told.  Injustices are brought to light, causes are championed, and wrongs are set right by the power of the pen.

God commanded the Israelites to write about instances of His judgment, times of deliverance, and memorials in honor of His goodness.  Furthermore, they were instructed to write about their ancestry, to make record of the chief men among them, to record their covenants and to write the words to songs.  We could easily deduce in modern vernacular that He told them to keep journals of answered prayers, blessings, chastisements, and to record choice biographical accounts, as well as the old “don’t forget where you came from” reminder.

Much of what we know about our missionary predecessors has come to us from their own pens.  By means of journals kept and letters written, they used perhaps their only outlet in times of discouragement, loneliness, and frustration.  We have also learned of their slow progress at times and the hallelujah pen that must have recorded the outbreaks of revival and victory.  For this, we have their accounts recorded in plain truth, absent of church politics and filled with the raw emotion that should accompany passion.

Today, there is a noticeable void of modern-day missionary writings.  My missionary contemporaries would say that they themselves do not have the ability, or that their lives and ministries are not worth anyone’s time to read.  I would remind them that the accounts of normal everyday people that God used yesterday, line my bookcase today.

The vastness of God’s purpose is not limited to my definition.  Everyone has a story.  My English Composition students subtly awakened me to this truth.  Through the innocence of assignments meant to improve sentence structure, unity, clarity and the minutia of mechanics, I discovered a kaleidoscope of personality, experience and background that God has chosen to use in His vineyard.  I am reminded of Nick, the milk hand from Missouri who so eloquently mastered the art of spiritual conclusion in his essay “Bulls and Bruises,” and of Anthony, the shy Southerner whose biography revealed an instant obedience to God’s call.  In Jason, I saw maturity beyond his years as evidenced in his writing, the result of a grand Christian heritage.  Greg’s flair with words and exquisite use of detail give him the matchless ability to tell a story both on paper and behind the pulpit.  In Deborah, I found an earnest devotion to her cause, brought to life through every drop of ink in each assignment.  Because of Andrew’s sanguine life-of-the-party disposition,  I was completely unprepared by his gentle emotion, yet grave concern for the Muslim world.

By the mere stroke of the pen (or keyboard) missionaries could share the wonders of the deep with those on shore.  A natural byproduct of a missionary’s musings will be the raising of awareness.  Missionary pioneers took seriously the job of enlightenment.  Their passion was contagious.  Through their writings they not only shared all that God had done, but what He might do, given more laborers.  Thus, writing can lead to recruitment.

We all have an intrinsic desire to connect with others.  If a kindred spirit unites through a shared enjoyment, a symmetrical spirit connects two like passions.  When the swelling of our inspiration can be effectively communicated, we have learned to share our passion.  The Psalmist said it best in Psalm 45:1 “My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.” In Hebrew, indite signifies a boiling over, or a bubbling up.  The writer’s pen was poised, his heart spilling over with all that he wanted to communicate.  The result was the conveyance of his passion through the flow of lovely words.