"Who ever saw a really happy infidel?”
Dr. R. A. Torrey asked the question. After a slight pause he continued. "Jolly infidels—jolly on occasion, in public—; but who ever saw an infidel that had joy in the deepest depths of his heart, the deep overflowing joy that the Christian knows?”
Again, he paused, and then proceeded: "I was once preaching in Chicago, and I asked everyone in the building who had found deep heart satisfaction, rest, and joy in Jesus Christ, who had found every deepest longing of their souls in Christ, to stand. Hundreds of men and women immediately rose to their feet.
"Then I said, 'I want to be fair. There are a good many infidels here tonight. Will every infidel in the building who can honestly say in the presence of this congregation that he has found, in infidelity, satisfaction for the deepest longings of his soul and real heart-rest, and is satisfied with infidelity tonight, please stand up?'
"Just one man arose. I said, 'I am glad there is one man who has the courage of his convictions, and I would like to ask him to meet me downstairs after the meeting is over.'
"He accepted my invitation. We sat down and talked. 'Mr. Small,' I said, 'you publicly proclaimed at the meeting that you had found satisfaction for the deepest longings of your soul, that your soul was at rest, and that you were fully satisfied with infidelity. Is that really true?'
“‘Well,' he said, 'Mr. Torrey, that will have to be qualified.'
"I answered: 'I think it will. You cannot find an infidel on earth, the deepest longings of whose soul are at rest and satisfied in infidelity. Who ever saw a happy old infidel? Jolly old infidels, yes—that is, jolly on occasions—you have seen; but who ever saw an aged infidel with that deep-abiding, overflowing joy that is so characteristic of the aged Christian?'
"This set the poor unbelieving infidel to thinking, and before many days had passed he came seeking and longing to know the God whom he had denied and ridiculed.”