No ordinary book of memoirs concludes with the promise, 'I am with you always, even to the end of the world.' But the biography of Jesus is no mere commemoration of the departed; his promise makes the Evangelists' account a living history. "Take the Gospel record in your hands," says Hugh Martin, "and you have the means of causing you to realize Christ's presence." Whether you are burdened, anxious, failing, sorrowful or hardened, Jesus' promise means that his perfect words come with power to people in every condition and that he is present with his people in every situation.