By Sarah D. Park

As a writer, I can’t help but hope that as many people as possible will read something I’ve written. A high quantity of readers is a clear confirmation that I’ve written something that connected with people. Because really, what’s the point of writing something if no one will read it?

But the more I try to be universally appealing, the less relevant the content becomes. It’s only when I zero in on a specific personal experience, something in the struggle of attempting to articulate the ineffable – love, pain, guilt, family ties – helps people recognize words they couldn’t come up with for themselves and feel less alone.

Personally, I can’t think of a more frustratingly specific body of work than the Bible. The Gospel writers captured the bare minimum of details while addressing a finite time and people. Even Mark, who wrote for the benefit of Gentiles, is not much help in communicating any kind of cultural or historical context. As English speakers, we might as well be at a disadvantage here, because English is a language of clarity and the Bible does not care for it.

I also have beef with Jesus as a storyteller. He is brief with a penchant for not explaining himself and is deliberate in obfuscating the meaning behind his stories. When prodded, he replies with a “Let those who have ears, let them hear.”

The Bible is clearly not written for me and yet, it is undeniably meant for me. Such a book rattles my logic, that something so inaccessible would be so accessible, and based off of its ever growing number of readers, the Bible boasts the most successful writers of all time. The Bible is the most re-printed tome and is translated into a myriad of languages, but mass communication was never the goal, merely the byproduct. Its writers teach me: Don’t appeal to the masses. Don’t explain yourself. But write to your people. Write to the kids you grew up with. Write to your elders. Write to younger you. We might then have hope of adding to that mysterious canon and move the story forward.

Sarah D. Park is a freelance writer whose work focuses on the cultivation of cross-racial dialogue with a Christian faith orientation. She is also a story producer for Inheritance Magazine and manages communications for several organizations. She currently calls the Bay Area her home but is an Angeleno through and through.