the fewest touches of pen on paper, of black ink on white surface. But
the few lines are put in so simply and skilfully that they make an
exquisite picture. It's the picture of _God coming in human garb as a
wooing Lover._

I think it might be best perhaps if I might simply give you _a sort of
free reading_ of these opening lines, with a word of comment or
illustration to try to make the meaning simpler. It will be a putting of
John's words into the simple every-day colloquial speech that we
English-speaking people use. John used very simple language in his own
telling of the story in his mother-tongue. And it may help if we try to
do the same.

You will quickly see how very simple this free translation will be. Yet,
let me say, that though homely and simple it will be strictly accurate
to what John is thinking and saying in his own native speech. I mean of
course, so far as I can find out just what he is thinking and saying.

Let us turn then to John's Gospel, at its beginning. And it will help
very much if we keep our Bibles open as we talk and read together.

Listen: _in the beginning there was a wondrous One_. He was the mind of
God thinking out to man. He was the heart of God throbbing love out to
man's heart. He was the face of God looking into man's face. He was the
voice of God, soft and low, clear and distinct, speaking into man's
ears. He was the hand of God, strong and tender, reaching down to take
man by the hand and lead him back to the old trysting-place under the
tree of life, down by the river of water of life.

He was the person of God wearing a human coat and human shoes,