He was just a very ordinary young man, living a very ordinary life. He was not conscious of having a single thought about his existence after death, and did not so much as believe in the existence of a God. What he might have called "religious things" had never entered his mind.
One summer day he was rambling in the fields. The sun was shining brightly, and all nature was beautiful. As he looked on the familiar landscape, suddenly (and for the first time) the thought arose in his mind: "All this must have had a beginning. How could it begin?"
Long thought led him to the conclusion that the world must have had a Maker. Then came the question: "What is He? Who is He?"
Again he launched out on a sea of speculation, and once more reached firm ground in the belief that the world's Maker must be a living, personal, very great Being.
By this time he had lost sight of the beauties of the landscape, and felt as if he were alone with the Creator. Now another question arose: "What am I to this Being, and what is He to me?"
On this line of thought he entered reluctantly, for he felt afraid of the result and feared that he would discover things that would make him unhappy. But he could not—he dared not turn back.
He now said to himself, "If there be such a person as God, I ought to know as much as possible about Him." He went home and set himself to reading and meditating and reasoning.
Soon he came to the painful conviction that he had never acknowledged this God, or done his duty to Him, but had in fact slighted Him by his negligence. As the sense of guilt fastened on him, he pursued his questions more and more anxiously.
Soon he began to add prayer to his reading and thinking. The light grew; his trouble increased.
At last he thought of seeing what Christians thought about the matter. They promptly introduced him to the Bible, the written Word of God. Here he found God. He found Him in Christ. He found Him at the cross. He found the answer to all his questions—and he found rest and peace in believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. What a wonderful answer to the idle question of a summer afternoon!
God does not lead all alike; sometimes He leads from nature up to nature's God. None may limit His power. And the promise is sure: "If any man will do His will, He shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself." John 7:1717If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. (John 7:17).