When walking in normal conditions, the tracks left are intermittent and indistinct. Walking in fresh snow is quite different, you become very conscious that every footstep and stop and change of direction is being clearly marked in your wake. Committing to paper is rather like leaving such a trail of footprints for others to see. It can be difficult to go back and recover anything you might later come to regret. In another way, committing to the written word can also feel like venturing onto thin ice. It is all a little bit scary. A thought may be quite clear to the writer but be lost or open to misinterpretation by the reader.
The same of course is true in conversation and in spoken ministry (especially if recorded) but people are usually much more forgiving of an exaggeration or lack of clarity in expression in the moment of speaking. Still, there are lots of warnings in the Bible about the damage the tongue can do, but the damage of the pen can be even greater. So it has been in a spirit of caution that I have from time to time ventured into writing on the internet, but also borne out of conviction about the issues tackled.
There are many areas of Christian doctrine and Bible study I feel ill-qualified to enter into. A sad fact is that so many, whether in spoken or written ministry, feel that every issue and area has to be tackled with equal authority by the individual teacher, whether as writer or as pastor of a Church. This is where the combination of a "one man ministry" together with a rigid "expository" approach can lead to pitfalls. Commentaries and studies on specific Bible books, covering each and every verse and phrase in depth, are popular with writers and readers, and seem very orderly and proper, but this is not a direction I would feel able to travel.
There are important areas of the faith and our understanding of salvation and the Christian life that I feel I have been struggling with for years, and still would find it hard to commit to paper a "full, firm and final" position. I still feel that for every Christian there is an ongoing journey or pilgrimage where the destination will never be truly reached in this life. When I write, I would certainly wish to write with conviction and a clear presentation of the authority and clarity of Scripture. It's just that the truths are so vast, and beyond even the wonderful capabilities of the gift of language that we have to communicate. In our speaking and writing, the human element can easily get in the way, leading to mis-communication between speaker and hearer, or writer and reader. So I would also hope for an element of exploration, of seeking to discover, rather than having to express things as complete and final in their expression.
Writers have a great responsibility. At the rate at which books, documents and on-line material is being churned out, I am increasingly aware of the unhelpful content and style of so much material. People think that complete dogmatism is the only positive sign of maturity and understanding. I often find, that as soon as I write something down so that it appears in hard black and white, I immediately want to qualify it in some way. I know that there are fundamental and definitive truths which cannot and must not be compromised or qualified.
The Lord, in His wonderful wisdom, was able to take each contact with a person on the individual merits of the circumstances. He did not appear to have a rigid system or blueprint, although He never diverted from the absolute truth. His flexibility of approach to speaking with people shines through in the Gospels. We do not have the same insights into the hearts and needs of individuals, and usual have to resort to general rather than particular in any writing or speaking. I find one to one witnessing and Christian counselling extremely challenging because of the lack of understanding of the real individual heart of the issues an individual is facing. I know how evasive I can be if someone is advising me, even if I know I really do want some advice!
I would love to be able to answer every question with a blaze of clear, incisive text that would sweep up every reader into the fulness of the truths of God. Probably most writers are seeking to do that as their ultimate and worthy aim. I have a real feeling that is just not a realistic or even altogether good aim. I would rather write as a pilgrim to other people who understand that they too are on a journey. A journey with clear direction, yes. A journey with a definite destination, yes. One where the Bible is recognised as the sole and complete authority for life and faith, absolutely. But a journey where, even for the believer with all the help of the Holy Spirit, we are still seeing things very much from the human perspective. Even Paul admitted that at our best we still see through a glass, darkly. The revelations yet to come in glory will no doubt be utterly overwhelming even to those who had the deepest and most spiritual insights into the Bible here in this scene. So, sometimes a little more humility and a little less dogmatism (without falling into the awful trap of having no real convictions at all) is a balance I would seek to strike.
As far as God is concerned, whether we are walking through snow or not is of no consequence as far as His knowledge of our ways and motives is concerned. He can see through any shroud of mist around our hearts, and any covering up of tracks we may be trying to achieve. He also understands our weakness and frailty, and perseveres with us in grace. He graciously allows a great variety of speakers and writers to say many things, and uses them to help and encourage other people in various ways. It can be a help in our learning to read conflicting opinions on various teachings, to hone our understanding and grasp of the issues involved. We must never be slapdash or knowingly contradictory or confusing in what we say, but perhaps I need not be quite as frightened at the prospect of committing to paper as I sometimes feel. God may even be pleased to use my mistakes to help someone else see the real truth more clearly. And, what through His grace may be rightly said, will too be open for the use in potential blessing to readers. So maybe I should just be getting down to it, and leaving a few tracks in the snow of these blank pages for others to explore.
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