Preface

L et us understand one thing: if we love him and believe in him, God does not deal with us according to the bad things we do, nor the persistent penchant itching deep in our psyche to do them. The consequence of the Gospel is as simple as that.

Then are you not struck with this appeal. . ?

“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

For me, these words are a galvanizing invitation. They are so completely palatable and non-threatening. They call me to a lifetime of pursuing the Person who stands solitary at the demarcation of time, as we know it. One does not waste one’s time studying the One by whom time is measured. One does not waste one’s time following One whose thought, words and deeds have so deeply impacted human history. No king, president, general, scientist, mogul of commerce or philosopher has so shaped civilization as has the power of those 1,500 or so days in which this simple Peasant moved among us, a Carpenter whose only brush with the halls of civil power stood in the capacity of a criminal condemned to death. And that is the paradox. Not the events which surrounded him, nor yet his teachings, nor even the cataclysmic days of his death, burial and resurrection, have brought about these things, but his patently audacious claim of his solitary identity -- who he is — and the deeds and events which proved it.

Such words as these call me to a life of spiritual and psychological transcendence. Unfortunately, my assorted foibles preclude my lingering long in such airs. Still, I cannot resist such an appeal. This presentation is a result of my response to this invitation. In it you will discover my own prejudices and biases. In it, you will see the pages of the Gospels through my eyes. I am responsible for every error in thinking and for none of the truth. Since this is the case, you must understand that what I have done with the Word of God here, I have done for myself. What you read here is what I read when I take the Sacred Pages in hand. It is as if you sat with me in the closet of my heart and shared with me the rich Cognac of Truth.

You must remember that you are looking over my shoulder as I, like others before me, struggle with God. Sometimes in tears. Sometimes in happiness. Sometimes in stony silence. As you read, I am sure that you will, at some level, hear my voice. You will see my flaws of character. I am not at all sure how comfortable I am with that. Better you should see Jesus. Better you should hear from him. However implausible, it is possible these pages may assist in that. Should this happen, I can have no greater reward.

The original Autographs of the Gospels stand alone, pristine and pure. They speak for themselves and cannot be added to or taken from. They, and they alone, encompass the living, written, Word of God.

Paul David Morris
1996

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