Poking Around in my Library: On my book shelves are some volumes which sit neglected for years. Then, by impulse, I grab one and thumb through it looking for a nugget of insight. Take, for example, my biography of Handley Moule who was, more than a hundred years ago, the principal of Ridley Hall in Cambridge, England, then Bishop of Durham, and also a principal speaker at the great 19th century Keswick Conventions. A most Godly man.

In this biography, Moule is quoted as he describes his father. "I can only look back upon him," Moule says, "thankful that such a personality embodies to me the great word Father; a man so full of energy and capacity, so absolutely simple, so entirely fearless, so free from the seeking of his own glory, so ready both to bear and do, a gentleman so true, a Christian so strong, so spiritual, so deep, such a pastor, such a parent, such a grandfather, such a friend."

I have long collected cameo descriptions of men and women who encapsulate the highest qualities ...