Embracing Criticism

Well, its been another interesting week. I signed a contract for my book with Evergreen Press on the stages of a Christian's life. They like the book, but they want to change the name. We've been batting around more names than we did for our firstborn baby. Who knows what the publisher will wind up calling it.
Getting a book published is starting to sink in with me. For the first time, I finally can call myself an author, even though I finished the book a long time ago. Now at least the publishers think it's a pretty good book, and that makes me happy.
I would like to think that it was enough just to know I did what God wanted me to do. I would like to think that I could rely entirely upon the grace of God, and not care what anything else thought. Jesus did this. So did Paul. So did Martin Luther, John Calvin, and hundreds of other true saints of God. But I am not one of them. I am often uncertain of my calling and unsure of my guidance. The assurance of others helps me stay on track, and confirms to me that I am doing the right thing.
As I've mentioned before, writing is a lonely occupation. You create in seclusion with the hope that people will want to read it later. But the more I get to know writing, the less I think of it as lonely. Bad writing is lonely. Good writing seeks out and receives the advice and criticism of others. Seclusion is the cloak we throw around ourselves to protect us from the harsh judgment of others.
But a serious writer cannot afford the luxury of this. A serious writer must care more about developing his craft than protecting his ego. He must we willing to let other people criticize, even harshly criticise what he does, and learn to sort the good criticism from the bad. He must also be willing to allow the compliments of others to carry him forward.
In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul writes. "let the prophets speak, two or three, and then let the body judge." Without the judging, there is o prophecy.
I cannot say how many hours I have wasted in my life defending myself from criticism that I should have embraced. I pray that God will give me the security to accept the help of others to acheive the goals He has set before me.