shoe-leather. The old Gospel of the Son of God is at its best as it is
being tramped out on the common street of life. Its truths stand out
clearest as they're walked out. Its love comes warmest, its power is
most resistless as it comes to you in the common give-and-take of daily
touch in home and shop and street. Are you writing your copy of the
Gospel?

You know that sometimes scholars have found some precious manuscripts in
old monasteries. They have gone into some old, grey, stone monkery in
the Near East, and they have run across old manuscripts hidden away in
some dark cell, covered with dust and with rubbish, perhaps. With much
tact and diplomacy they have at length managed to get possession of the
coveted manuscript. And they have been fairly delighted to find that
they have gotten hold of a remnant, a very precious remnant, of one of
these Gospels. In just this way much invaluable light has been gotten
that made possible these precious revised versions.

I wonder if _your_ gospel--the one you're writing with your life--is
_just a remnant,_ a ragged remnant. And perhaps there's a good bit of
dusting necessary, and removing of rubbish, to get even at what there is
there. And some of the shy hungry hearts that touch you and me need to
use quite a bit of unconscious diplomacy perhaps to get even as much as
they do. I wonder. The crowd knows. It could throw a good bit of light
here. How much of this old Jesus-story _are_ you really _living!_

Of course, there's a special touch of inspiration in these four Gospels.
The Holy Spirit brooded over these men in a special way as they wrote.
That is true. These are the standard Gospels. We would never know the
blessed story but for these four Spirit-breathed little books. But it is
also true that that same Holy Spirit will guide you in the writing of