Have you ever said something and then wished you’d said it differently? Sure you have. That’s the blessing of writing. You can write, then read what you wrote, then reflect upon it and change it until you get it to say what you really want to say!

Texting isn’t a very good way of writing; it doesn’t give you that reflective opportunity, it just goes out like a spoken word, plus it’s a bit short. Email is a good way to write, but so often people don’t read their emails. Letters have been a great way to write for centuries, and remain so, even though they are greatly reduced in use. Books, of course, remain the best record, followed perhaps by magazine or newspaper articles, each allowing the reader the time to digest what is said, ponder it, and then accept or dispose according to the will of the reader.

“The will of the reader.” Think about that. Now remember that we have The Bible, God’s Word, a book, available to us at all times in many forms. These are letters written by humans, yes, but under the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit.

God has written to us what He wanted to say, and we have the opportunity to reflect upon it! He doesn’t need to change anything He’s written, because He is sure of what He’s said and meant to say every word of it. It is “the will of the reader” that determines any result. The efforts some have made to discredit the Bible quickly fail, because the reader still has to decide 1. whether to read it or not? and 2. what to do about what’s been read?

I may not like what I’ve read, or I may not understand what I’ve read, but it’s still up to me to act upon it or not. Perhaps we would do well to read with an attitude of discernment, asking God to make clear what has been written, both secular and spiritual. This would minimize the amount of secular stuff we feed on, perhaps, and allow us more time with His Word.