Do I Have to Write for Christ?

Okay, I'm a Christian, but does everything I write have to be for Christ?

Yes, it does. That doesn't mean you have to include God in everything you write, but your writing has to glorify Christ. But that’s not a very nice way to put it is it? A better way to say it would be you get to write for Christ.

Huh?

Many people think Christianity is just getting to Heaven when you die...but it's actually about getting there before you die.

What? That doesn’t make any sense? I can’t dance with angels on clouds, and I definitely don’t know how to play the harp (if that’s your idea of heaven then you may want to re-examine things). This is not what I'm talking about though. I am talking about the “Kingdom of Heaven” or the “Kingdom of God,” which is different than “Heaven” the place. Heaven is a part of the kingdom, but it’s not the whole kingdom. The kingdom of God is wherever God’s will is done. God’s realm of influence.

Now, you may be thinking, “What has this got to do with writing? And why do I have, get to write for Christ only? Why can’t I get to write for other reasons? Do I have to learn how to play the harp?” This has everything to do with writing, and no, you don’t have to learn the harp, unless you really want to. What have you got against harps?

God is at work in the world. What is He working at? He is advancing His kingdom, gradually taking more and more ground. It’s a conspiracy you see, a divine conspiracy. As Dallas Willard puts it: "It is God's plan to intervene in human history...now."

That’s great, God has a conspiracy against the world…can I go write my story about desperate vampires now? It expresses me.

Well…you can go write that story now if you want, but you’ll be missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime. You’ll be missing out on the chance to be a co-conspirator with Christ!

(I'm not saying a story with vampires can't glorify Christ. It would just be very difficult...and it would have to be different than the rest of mainstream vampire stories).

If you think about it, we all have kingdoms of our own. We have realms of influence, things we can control, exercise our power over, and exert our will upon.

Maybe you’re a good piano player, and you can control the piano to do your will, which is to make music. Maybe the refrigerator is within your domain, and you regularly exercise your control over it. Maybe the harp is not yet within the borders of your kingdom, but you are planning to conquer it very soon. And maybe you have a computer that lies within your kingdom. A computer, on which, you construct and weave marvelous works of writing.

We, as Christians, should be turning our kingdoms over to God. We should be conforming our wishes, our will, to the wishes, and the will of God. There should be no distinctions between our kingdom, and God’s kingdom. In other words, everything we do should be for God. The greatest opposition to this goal is…the self.

We want things for ourselves. We want to glorify ourselves first, rather than God. We have it backwards. We need to glorify Him first, then we will be glorified also. As it says in Colossians 3:4, “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory."

We need to give everything we have to God, including writing. We need to take part in the “divine conspiracy.” God has allowed us to participate with Him in advancing His kingdom. We get to take part. God could just do it all on His own, but He wants to let us help, so that we can be glorified with Him.

If we write for Christ, we are taking part in the divine conspiracy. We are advancing the Kingdom of God. We are living in the Kingdom of God, right now! That’s what’s so beautiful about living for Christ today, rather than tomorrow. Why wait to live in the Kingdom of God? We don’t have to wait until we’re dead. This is the whole point of life. If Christianity is just about getting into Heaven when we die, then what’s the point of life? Why are we here at all?

So write for Christ. Not only do you have to write for Christ (He is the awesome creator of the universe) but you get to write for Christ. It is an amazing privilege and an honor to live for Christ. By writing for God, you are working side-by-side with Christ, advancing His kingdom, and extending the borders of God’s will. What greater honor is there than being a co-laborer with the King?  There is none.