Reading and writing
"The unfolding of your words gives light;
it imparts understanding to the simple." (Psalm 119:130)
June 12, 2025
Dear friends,
Words have power! God spoke and the universe was created. He has revealed his mind and will to us in the holy Scriptures, recorded in words by prophets and apostles. God says, "...so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:10-11)
God's Son, who came into the world, is called "the Word." Our salvation has come to us via the word of the gospel: "Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth..." when we received "...with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls." (James 1:18a, 21)
God has given us the gift of language to express what is in our hearts, to communicate with one another and with the Lord in prayer and praise. Language is a blessing God has given to the church and to the world.
As long as I can remember I have loved books, first looking at them and then learning to read them. And then I learned to write, and how to find just the right word or phrase to express what was in my mind. In my college years I began to keep a journal. In time the Lord called me into Christian ministry where I used words a lot, speaking and writing and reasoning and explaining things. Of course, the Christian life is more than words, it's about attitudes and actions, but it's God's word, illumined by the Spirit, that shows us the right way and motivates us to the right actions.
Recently, I have begun to enjoy and feel the power of good poetry. Much of Scripture is given in poetic form. Currently, besides the Bible, I'm reading T. S. Eliot and George Herbert. In this week's Afterwords, I'm including some snippets of poems and articles related to writing and literature...
A FATHERS DAY POEM. New Testament professor Merrill C. Tenney once wrote a poem to his sons, entitled "A Father's Gift". Here are the last two stanzas...
"I can exert no mighty influence
To make a place for you in men’s affairs;
But lift to God in secret audience
Unceasing prayers.
I cannot, though I would, be always near
To guard your steps with the parental rod;
I trust your soul to Him who holds you dear,
Your father’s God."
Read the rest here.
A WRITER'S FRUSTRATION. Even T. S. Eliot experienced difficulty in finding the right words:
"So here I am, in the middle way, having had twenty years—
Twenty years largely wasted, the years of l'entre deux guerres
Trying to use words, and every attempt
Is a wholly new start, and a different kind of failure
Because one has only learnt to get the better of words
For the thing one no longer has to say, or the way in which
One is no longer disposed to say it. And so each venture
Is a new beginning, a raid on the inarticulate
With shabby equipment always deteriorating
In the general mess of imprecision of feeling,
Undisciplined squads of emotion. And what there is to conquer
By strength and submission, has already been discovered
Once or twice, or several times, by men whom one cannot hope
To emulate—but there is no competition—
There is only the fight to recover what has been lost
And found and lost again and again: and now, under conditions
That seem unpropitious. But perhaps neither gain nor loss.
For us, there is only the trying. The rest is not our business."
(T. S. Eliot, "East Coker" from "The Four Quartets")
IN OTHER ARTICLES.
-- Recent studies have found “…that handwriting activates more elaborate and widespread brain connectivity patterns compared to typing. They suggest that the physical act of moving your hand while writing creates spatial and temporal patterns in the brain that promote learning.... Japanese researchers found that participants who wrote calendar events by hand on paper showed increased brain activity—particularly in memory regions—compared to those who recorded the same information on smartphones. The hand writers also recalled the information 25% faster than those who typed. Writing by hand triggers extra neural activity in regions tied to learning and memory. So, no matter how messy your handwriting might be, that grocery list might also be giving your memory a little work-out." Read about the personality traits of those who write by hand.
-- "Prolonged thought about the words which we ordinarily use to think with can produce a momentary aphasia. I think it is to be welcomed. It is well we should become aware of what we are doing when we speak, of the ancient, fragile, and (when used well) immensely potent instruments that words are." (C. S. Lewis, in Studies in Words) This book is an excellent study on our misuse of words, especially when we are not clear (and correct) on the meanings. He said that words are used more to label and show favor (or disfavor) rather than to bring clarity: "...most people are obviously far more anxious to express their approval and disapproval of things than to describe them. Hence the tendency of words to become less descriptive and more evaluative..." (C. S. Lewis)
-- The haiku vies with the sonnet for the title of Best Known Poetic Form There Is.
So, fellow readers, let’s read on and write on!
Sandy
Afterwords is an occasional newsletter on topics of interest to me (Sandy Young) since my retirement from full-time pastoral ministry. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.