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Minister and author McKisic presents a guide to understanding love in its ultimate sense: that of God for his human creation. His love was evident when, after the disobedience of man in the Garden of Eden, God took the slow but sure steps to create and offer his son to the world, giving us, McKisic says, "an out from the effect of sin." God had already fashioned a beautiful natural world from which food and water and beauty could be gleaned. The author allows the reader to follow the progression of God's chosen people as they were oppressed in Egypt, then led out of that domination and into the land of milk and honey. Moses was selected as the leader of the Israelites, assigned by an appearance of God in a burning bush. Moses felt unworthy and unequal to this huge task. But at every juncture in this journey, Moses would see that God's love provides. God arranged that the chosen people would have sufficient wealth when they left Egypt. They were also guided by a pillar of fire by night, given a rain of manna each day, and the staff of Moses to purify water for their drinking.
New Testament incidents also underscore God's abiding love in the actions and words of Jesus Christ. He healed a woman who had been "bent over" for eighteen years, even without her asking. He gave a blind man his sight, revealing that the man's faith was so strong that he would immediately preach about God's glory. He fed a multitude of hungry people who had gathered to hear him speak and relieved the illness of a servant of a Roman centurion who believed that Jesus could heal merely by his word without being present. All these biblical stories illustrate not only the physical happenings, McKisic asserts, but the ineffable, unfailing love that God holds for us, proof of his continual forgiveness and his total communication with and understanding of his created beings. In showing love for others the way that God shows his love for us, "we show the world that we are children of God."
McKisic, who was educated in electrical engineering, later came to realize his calling to preach and teach. He offers this brief but powerful work as a revelation and motivation to others. One of the ways in which his book provides this outreach is through the well-chosen, emotive photographs that accompany the text. These give special emphasis to sweet scenes of fathers playing with and caring for young children, a potent metaphor for God's direct concern for his human children. McKisic offers many biblical quotations and frames his own observations and advice around them, gradually and gently building his case that if his followers allow it, God will assist them in every aspect of life, even when they are rebellious, giving them ample time and scope to experience his forgiving nature. In essence, this work is a sermon delivered with pertinent examples designed to lead its audience to accept their great blessings. It is highly recommended as a focus for both workshop study and individual contemplation.
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