"Precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little." Isaiah 28:10
"Precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little." Isaiah 28:10
I first met Prue twenty-six years ago when I lodged in her lovely Godalming home. We soon became great friends and it was as if the forty years difference in our ages just did not exist. A “people person” Prue always showed genuine interest in other people and great concern when they experienced difficulties.
Tucked into her Bible study books was a modern translation of that wonderful chapter from Corinthians Bill read today. Prue had copied the excerpts out in her own hand. She loved this chapter and always tried to live by it.
Its meaning is discussed in Henry Drummond’s address called “The Greatest Thing in the World”. Prue read it every day of her life. She gave her original copy to me with a note that said: “I give you a precious little book which really is precious – I had to get a new paperback to replace it as I read it constantly.”
Prue expressed Love. Always. When she moved to Brockhampton all her books went with her. Boxes of them! One was full of her study books. Prue’s love of God and of the Christ was very precious to her, she lived that love every day.
So when Penny asked me if I would sort through the books with Prue, keeping some for her and taking the rest home, I said I’d be glad to do so. It was such a gorgeous day we did this outside in the sunshine. Imagine our surprise and laughter when we found no fewer than fifteen Bibles! Prue used to lend them to people in trouble.
When I got home I made two heaps of the books. Those in good condition, and those not. A piece of paper fell out in the sorting. Written on it were extracts from that Corinthians chapter as contained in the New English Bible. Here is how it finishes: “There is nothing Love cannot face; there is no limit to its faith, its hope, and its endurance. Love will never come to an end.”
May I finish with a wonderful message Prue had left on my telephone answer machine just a few weeks ago. Her voice had been hesitant at the start and then suddenly Prue was speaking in the strong clear voice I've always known: “So we’ll constantly refer to the good - the good and loving that is going on, all the time. We must go on believing in it, we must believe in the permanence of good.”