I Have Grown in His Love

One method of enjoying reading the Bible is to live the events as one reads them by becoming an observer or a participant in those events. In this novel, the author became "James," the lad who was carrying five loaves of bread and two fish which Jesus blessed to feed over five thousand people. From that perspective, he followed James's growth in love of Jesus Christ. Through listening to Jesus' teachings, observing His miraculous deeds, following Him on the way to the cross, and hearing the news of His resurrection from the dead, James developed his understanding of who Jesus is. First, he thought of Him as a prophet, the Messiah, and finally he believed that He is the Son of God. At a mature age, James wrote his memoirs, from the first time he met Jesus, to the time he was preparing to leave on his first missionary trip to preach the Way.

Although the miracle of feeding the crowd happened almost one year before Jesus was crucified and resurrected, the novel is developed to present to the reader other important events that happened prior to that miracle. Prophecies of the Old Testament were incorporated in the body of the story as they were being fulfilled.

The Bible events in the novel are real. James is an imaginary figure whom the authorfollowed in his growth in the love and knowledge of Jesus Christ.