A young schoolboy named Norman walks through the Cumberland mountains to spend a weekend with his school friend Jack. Burdened by spiritual doubt and frustration, he feels his love for God is cold and insufficient, and he cannot reconcile his earnest desire to please God with his constant sense of failure. In a moment of quiet sincerity, he offers a simple prayer, asking God to send him someone who can help him through his confusion. Upon arriving at Jack's home, Norman discovers his friend went out to meet him and they missed each other on the road. While waiting in the library, he encounters Jack's father, a warm and genial invalid whose crippled hands prevent him from easily turning the pages of his Bible. Norman assists him, and the man explains he has been meditating on a particular verse — that we love God because He first loved us. This single truth strikes Norman with immediate and profound relief. The invalid gently explains that the foundation of a believer's security is not the strength or warmth of their own love toward God, but rather God's prior and unconditional love for them. It is this love, not human effort or feeling, that forms the basis of salvation and belonging. The more earnest a person is in seeking to please God, the invalid observes, the more they become a target for discouragement and doubt. Understanding this distinction frees Norman from the cycle of self-examination and disappointment that had been weighing on him. The exchange is brief but transformative. Norman recognises the encounter as a direct answer to his prayer, and the simple biblical truth reorients his understanding of his relationship with God away from performance and toward grace. Jack then arrives home with characteristic enthusiasm, and the quiet, meaningful conversation gives way to the ordinary warmth of friendship and welcome.
By Catharine Shaw · First published 2001 · Genre: Mystery, Crime Fiction, Thriller