part 2 of 4 in a December blog series on Advent
In 1884, D. L. Moody, the American evangelist and publisher, was sitting around the fire one Sunday evening with a party of friends during a visit to England. Tired from the services earlier that day, Moody punted a request to expound some portion of Scripture to another in his circle, the Scottish preacher Henry Drummond. After some urging, Drummond drew a small New Testament from his pocket and began to speak on the subject of love from the 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians.
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Moody was so moved by the address that he had it read before his students every year afterward. Drummond entitled its subsequent publication “The Greatest Thing in the World” – a little book that has sold, oh, well over 12 million copies over the years. The message is an enduring declaration of Love as the supreme good, but a good that is only meaningful when it is lived.
Moody concludes his preface to Drummond’s essay with the words: “The one great need in our Christian life is love, more love to God and to each other. Would that we could all move into the love chapter, and live there.”
There exists so many “love chapters” in the story of God’s relentless love for us, so many “love chapters” marked by the liturgical calendar. Christmas is a much celebrated one, sometimes muffled by the commercialism of our affluent culture, but always there in the Commission of the Christ-centered heart. Christians best share the gospel when we remember to embody and communicate what it is really about: a perfect Love so great that it would enter our brokenness, be born into and among us, die for us and live again for us – all to reinstate us in the circle of grace.
The real gifts become words given as flesh and spirit, received these ways, too, and then bestowed on others … all which draw each from the night into the light. “Let him easter in us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us, be a crimson-cresseted east,” as the Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins writes.
This is what Drummond says of sharing God’s good news:
Never offer men a thimbleful of gospel. Do not offer them merely joy, or merely peace, or merely rest, or merely safety; tell them how Christ came to give men a more abundant life than they have, a life abundant in love, and therefore abundant in salvation for themselves, and large in enterprise for the alleviation and redemption of the world. Then only can the gospel take hold of the whole of a man, body, soul and spirit, and give to each part of his nature its exercise and reward. Many of the current gospels are addressed only to a part of man’s nature. They offer peace, not life; faith, not love; justification, not regeneration. And men slip back again from such religion because it has never really held them. Their nature was not all in it. It offered no deeper and gladder life-current than the life that was lived before. Surely it stands to reason that only a fuller love can compete with the love of the world.
God’s joy at His children coming home to celebrate at His great table is contagious – that is what the Great Commission is all about – the spreading of the Good, which will overcome the bad; the promise that in spite of our fallenness and fallibility, we are welcome to sit at God’s table not only for this Christmas Celebration, but for Always.
And it is this tearing of this seal, this acceptance of this offering, which changes everything.
How to live the Adventure? There are more ways than I could ever count, or imagine, for that matter! But I have a proposition that can plant seeds even in the most wintered soul.
This advent season, I invite you to give 7 Bibles as gifts.
Why the Bible?
And why 7?
I encourage you to pray over the idea until we meet here again.
And if you are a newbie to prayer, or a skeptic, or a critic, or simply unsure or even quite blank … to consider, at least, why I am asking this of you, and if you should be on your own gift list.
Next: “The Work of God: The Receiving of Grace”
Lover of God, professor of literature and author of 
Hello Carolyn,
Thank you for this message. I was not familiar with this essay on 1 Cor 13, and look forward to reading it (BTW, I found a free Kindle version here: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16739). And I will devote time in prayer to your challenge to give away 7 Bibles this Christmas. Looking forward to keeping up with your Advent series.
Thanks so much for your continuing support, Richard! And great idea sharing the kindle link. I find that you can track down many otherwise to hard to find books that way, too.
I love giving books. I have a new copy of your book, waiting to give it to a young friend when he comes home from seminary for Christmas. About 30 years ago I fell in love with Drummond’s book. It was this time of year, and because the book was small and inexpensive, I slipped a copy into each Christmas card I mailed that year. I do enjoy your writing and look forward to reading all of you that I can in the future. I appreciate your depth of understanding and the grace with which you express it. Reading your work is like going on a beautiful journey, and I look forward to the next trip. Now I will go dust off my copy of Drummond–if I can find it. God bless you and your family!
Wow, Hilda – your beautiful note bowled me over! Thank you for being so gracious and for taking the time to write such encouraging and kind words, and blessings to you and yours as well. You’re right, Drummond’s book is a slender one, and the perfect gift to tuck into an envelope and mail inexpensively. Great idea! And so glad you enjoyed Surprised by Oxford. I’m working on another “journey” as we speak, so will be sure to keep you posted :)
Thank you! I agree with Hilda above that reading your work is like a journey. I have blogged about your post, and passed on the The Greatest Thing in the World. It has been enjoyable read thus far.
Glad, you, too, enjoyed the trip, Jaime! It’s wonderful to get to connect with thoughtful and lovely readers like yourself. Christmas blessings!