This week, for something completely different, I thought I might write about writing.
I have been writing to you regularly now every fortnight for over two years. This is not by any means my first writing assignment, having previously published several books and scientific papers in my “pre-Rainbow" days.
But now, being able to write to you every fortnight about the things of the gospel is something that I consider a very special privilege.
The ability to write is a precious gift indeed.
That is the reason why so much emphasis is placed upon developing young students writing abilities to the highest level possible.
In fact, at the first Indigenous school I worked at in the Northern Territory, I quickly discovered the lack of reading and writing skills ranked very highly among the main reasons why they continue to have so much disadvantage.
The Bible has quite a bit to say about writing, since this was the principle means of permanently recording knowledge throughout most of history, including during Biblical times.
Interestingly, as a written document, the Bible is very different to most other written records of that era.
Before the printing press was invented by Gutenberg around the Year 1436, all writing was done by hand.
The process was usually undertaken by professional scribes, using handmade ink and materials such as papyrus or leather parchment.
As such, writing was a very expensive process, usually reserved only for important documents.
Documents written during this era almost always glorified the person responsible for that document - for example recording the military victories of the kings while at the same time ignoring or minimising their failings - to make them look great.
The Bible is not like that.
When you read your Bible, you quickly realise that you are getting the whole story, “warts and all”.
The Bible tells it like it really is, with no "cover ups".
This is one of the reasons why we can have absolute confidence in its accuracy, and why it stands out from other written documents of the time.
In the book of Jeremiah, we read, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book'.”
And in Revelation, “And He who sits on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.' And He said, 'Write, for these words are faithful and true'.”
God commanded His prophets and apostles to write down His words so that we, throughout the ages, could learn and grow from their wisdom and knowledge.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said to his disciples “…every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.” - giving them the responsibility of writing down everything they saw and learned, so that we too may know the treasures of the Kingdom that Christ offers freely to all who will accept Him.