BECOMING THE BOOK I MEANT TO WRITE

An Ode to Outlines

I found several of my writing notebooks from years back to the 1990’s to 2005.  They were all neatly and systematically written out outlines of all my writing projects.  Outlines of essays, articles, and books I meant to write.  They never reached a finished state so they have been stored away for who knows what.  I had this very nagging and discouraging thought, or query, as to why I never seem to finish any of these things, meaning getting them published and out into the world. 

As I was reading through these notebooks of outlines I realized something that made me smile; an epiphany of sorts.  I was recognizing something in the outlines.  They make up the skeleton and foundation of my life.  I AM these writings, I meant to write.  I AM the book, in the flesh, that I meant to write.  I smiled because my nagging and discouraging thought turned into a sense of accomplishment in a very holistic and wonderful way.

The more I thought about it over the next few days, the more I connected that with something else I have been working on…my new writing project.  While doing research for that I have been reading a Systematic Theology book and other books about God and Religion.  I have felt overwhelmed with the wordiness of it all.  So much explanation about what I consider to be a simple Truth recorded in the Bible.  Maybe that’s where things get off track in Religious Life.  I hear and read religious preachers and teachers say it’s necessary and good to be a Biblical Christian, relying on God’s Word alone.  But then they add on a multitude of words and thoughts from commentaries and other books when they preach and teach the Bible themselves.  The words in the Bible often get lost in the tsunami of human evaluation and explanation.  I often leave more in confusion than simple enlightenment.

God inspired words that fit into one rather small book; human beings have written volumes upon volumes of books to explain what God said in His book.

I personally believe that God is pretty clear in what He has passed down to be said about Him and about our lives.  The Bible outlines for His people what they need to know about Him and what they need to know about how to live the life He created them to live.  Then He sent His Holy Spirit to live in us and flesh those words out.  It seems a lot simpler than what we make it out to be.  I agree with the Preacher who wrote Ecclesiastes 7:29.

“I find that God made man simple;

Man’s complex problems are of his own devising.”

The older I get and the longer I walk with God, the more I realize that God truly knows what He’s doing and He clearly lets me know what I need to be doing.  Know Him, trust Him, listen to Him, and obey Him.  That is the simplicity of the Christian Life.