Preface

     I doubt that a lot of authors really know what made them write their books. That may be a good thing, otherwise some writers would never be able to live with their own consciences. This little book is different. I know why I wrote it, although its content represents a viewpoint in direct contradiction to what I would have expressed a few years ago. Like so many others who believe in Christ, as I grew older and was able to form more mature judgments, I became more aware and discerning of the meaning of grace. It was this new insight which made such an inward change in my life and it clamored for expression.

     Even at that, I probably would not have written had it not been that I met A. V. Mansur, a retired dry-land farmer who lives in California. Mr. Mansur and his wife are quiet and reserved, living modestly and simply, away from what the poet calls "the madding throng's ignoble strife." But they are meditative and contemplative. Their early life of toil taught them much about our relationship to, and our dependence upon, the Creator of the universe.

     A deepening penetration of the revelation of God encouraged Mr. Mansur to feel that in Christ we are freed from enslavement to law, that God no longer relates to His people upon the basis of their conformity to a written code. This demanded a refocusing of the apostolic letters and re-examination of the very nature of the "new covenant," referred to in Hebrews 8:7-13. Fortunately, it was about this time that I began stating my growing convictions along the same lines, and my California friend and brother urged me to place them in a more permanent and useful form. This book is the result.

     If you are benefited in your reading of this little thesis, you must give any glory and praise to Him "whom having not seen we love." Certainly the writer and the one who encouraged him to write can take little credit. Neither one can lay claim to any profundity or erudition, and both are content to be simply slaves of Jesus.

     In 1706, the philosopher, John Locke, wrote, "Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking makes what we read ours." This book intends only to share building blocks of thought. It is hoped they will prove helpful in your construction of a life worthy of the divine call.

     W. Carl Ketcherside