7 habits of great writers: 5. Touch their hearts

A good book, especially a spiritual one, should make them laugh, make them cry, make them sit up and make them act. Never be one-dimensional. God has always filled my life with delightfully amusing moments that were illustrative, yet so relevant and practical.

He used the same style when He illustrated deeper spiritual principles and concepts through the ordinary lives of contemporary biblical characters. He wove insights into each story that each truth lent itself to many different situational interpretations. It is because the bible so adequately vindicates itself through my real-world experiences that I now simply scoff at gainsayers – you cannot judge the bible from an aloof distance the way a critic assesses a book or a movie – you have to feel it.

The story of the man at the pool of Siloam is a delightful example of God’s very human literary style. Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath and told him to “take up his bed and walk”. He could have waited another day to avoid a conflict, but Sabbath was the day He chose anyway. On seeing him walking around with his bed, the Pharisees castigated the man, in spite of the fact that he was walking for the first time in his life. That’s like telling a child not to open his presents on Christmas morning.

The simple fellow exhibited his joy in the very spirit of the Sabbath, rejoicing in the love and mercy of God - as we all should do. Thus, when they asked him about it, all he could say, whilst grinning like a Cheshire cat, was “Hey guys, I don’t know much, but I do know that Jesus healed me today”. It’s a really funny moment, told with such dry wit that it is easy to miss the moment. Yet as much as it is funny, it very effectively illustrates a powerful point without any need for preaching or elaboration. Having made them laugh, maybe even cry when the disciples talked about it later, Jesus also made them sit up. His was a very efficient style that provided remarkably teachable moments.

Another evergreen favorite, also set near water (Jesus is the water of life), relates to the time when Jesus met a woman from the other side of the tracks at Jacob’s well in Shechem. He was alone with her, a potential dilemma that created a fascinating dramatic backdrop to the unfolding story. Given the differences in their world-views, Jesus the Jewish Rabbi engaged the easy-living Samaritan, using everyday ideas. He reasoned that a bit of water, a well and a thirst was more than enough material to invoke a good debate. Picking up on those he skillfully led the woman beyond her more obvious social issues and the fact that she had been with so many men, to get to the heart of her problem.

He discerned a far deeper thirst in her and knew that to be the real reason for her otherwise deviant behavior. Instead of judging her behavior or the symptoms of her cause, like a good physician He addressed the root causes of her dilemma. Yet in so doing, He also addressed the root issues of her community, enabling a whole village to grasp that the God who was once either limited to Jerusalem or Samaria had come to dwell amongst them.

It is a story that has kept countless theologians and believers, enchanted throughout the ensuing centuries and a very useful template for all writing.

(c) Peter Eleazar @ www.4u2live.net
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