4 Reasons Why Young People (Like You) Should Write

I’m a writer.

I type words and erase more. I scribble down thoughts, then scratch them out. I spend my free time with verbs and commas and clauses. I long to create sentences that stir people’s souls and, ultimately, redirect their gaze.

I write so people worship Christ.

Not everyone shares my passion for words, but maybe you do. Maybe all you need is a push forward. Because writing is hard, tedious, time-consuming, discouraging. There are days (many) when I don’t feel like flipping up my laptop and springing words onto the page. But I try anyway.

Why?

Because the kingdom of God is at hand and I want to use my time strategically for him. I want you to do that too.

Here are four reasons why young people (like you) should write:

1. Writing is a ministry.

As a young person, you have a unique and compelling perspective. It’s likely people will listen. And with the Spirit’s power coursing through your pen, God can use you to minister mightily.

The Lord calls you to speak, act, live, and write boldly, just as he called young Jeremiah:

Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak (Jer. 1:7).

2. Writing redeems your time.

If using time wisely was hard for the Ephesian church (Eph 5:16), then it’s intensely difficult for teenagers living in the dizzying twenty-first century. But it’s not impossible.

Reading healthy books, honing helpful skills, and crafting compelling words are all ways you can live intentionally. They’re ways you can redeem your hours for the Savior who redeemed you.

Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble (Ps. 107:2).

3. Writing helps you see what others don’t.

It’s easy to enjoy life at a surface-level, skimming past the familiar. But writing forces you to stop and swim deeper into God’s Word and works. It pries you out of your comfort zone and trains your eyes to see things others don’t.

David’s eye for poetic beauty is evident in Psalm 19:

The heavens declare the glory of God, and sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge (Ps. 19:1-2).

Worship to God stems from a heart that recognizes his beauty and handiwork. Writing cultivates that recognition.

4. Writing glorifies God.

Think of your life as a pond of reflecting light, where every droplet mirrors the grand glory of your Creator. That means every word you write counts.

God painted this world with colorful people bearing incredible creativity. As mini-creators, we get to direct glory back to the ultimate Artist and Author.

Jackie Hill Perry writes:

“In God’s kindness, He’s given creatives the ability to do what He did in the beginning and what He’s [been] doing since then. Some of us do it by singing songs. Others by painting images or writing poems or books or raps. We, in more ways than one, mirror Him as we do. What a privilege that is!”[i]

Writing exercises your creative muscles, not so you can flex them boastfully, but so you can write powerful words for Christ’s kingdom.

Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:31).

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:16).

Fight and Write

Fellow young person, your words bear weight. They matter.

But first, you must pick up your pen, flip up your laptop, crack open your journal. You must accept the challenge of writing. There will be shaky sentences and crumbly paragraphs and feeble nouns. There will be discouragement, tediousness, and frustration.

But don’t run from it.

Fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12) and write the words God has given you. Because they can shake the world, young writer.

Really, they can.

 

(P.S. Ready to take a step forward? The Young Writer’s Workshop is open for registration until Sunday, August 18! Find out more here.)

 

[i] Thomas J. Terry and J. Ryan Lister, Images and Idols: Creativity for the Christian Life (Foreword by Jackie Hill Perry)