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Adoniram Judson would prove to be one of the most effective missionaries of the 19th Century. During his ministry, over 200,000 Burmese would be led to faith in Jesus Christ. But all of that would have to wait until the young atheist first gave his life to Christ.
And that would happen in a most dramatic way….
Born into a minister’s home, the young Adoniram displayed such an interest in academics that he was enrolled at Rhode Island Christian College in Providence by the age of 16. While there, Judson met and befriended several atheists, with the most outspoken of the bunch being a young man named Jacob Eames. Under the considerable influence of Eames, Judson denounced his Christian upbringing by the time he was 20.
Upon graduation, Judson began to travel all over New England in search of fame and personal glory. One evening, unable to make his intended destination by nightfall, Judson was forced to seek refuge at a country inn. The innkeeper reported that he had one room available, but apologized because it was adjacent to a room in which a young man lay dying. Judson assured the innkeeper he would be unbothered by the young man’s plight, and went upstairs to sleep.
But sleep would not come.
The moans coming from the next room over captured Judson’s thoughts and troubled him greatly. In the lonely hours of the night, Judson found himself asking questions on behalf of the young man: “Was the dying man prepared to die?” “Where would he spend eternity?” “Was he a Christian, calm and strong in the hope of life in Heaven?” “Or, was he a sinner shuddering in the dark brink of the lower region?”
In those sleepless hours, Judson chided himself for even entertaining such thoughts. After all, what would Jacob Eames and the rest of his atheistic friends think if they knew he was pondering such questions?
While paying his bill the next morning, Judson noticed that the innkeeper was visibly disturbed. Adoniram casually asked about the status of the sick, young man. The reply was somber: “He is dead.”
“Dead?”
Adoniram was so taken aback at the heavy finality of the word that his midnight fears resurfaced. He quickly composed himself and uttered a few conventional phrases common to humanity when death takes someone so young. Then Adoniram asked the inevitable question: “Do you know who he was?”
“Yes,” replied the innkeeper. “He was from the college in Providence. Name was Eames, Jacob Eames.”
The moment impacted Judson greatly. He realized that his friend Eames was dead…and lost. More importantly, he realized he was lost, as well! He humbly returned home, entered Andover Theological Seminary, and asked God to forgive him of his sin.
Now, Adoniram Judson could be used as a vessel for God’s glory, and God used him in mighty ways. At Judson’s death in 1850, 1 out of every 58 inhabitants of Burma was a Christian!
God always has a plan to accomplish His purpose.
Resource’s Origin:
To the Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson by Courtney Anderson. Little, Brown and Co., Pages 41-44.
Topics Illustrated Include:
Atheism
Beliefs
Conversion
Death
Doubt
Fear
Friends
God’s Plan
Influence
Lost
Missionary
Pride
Purpose
Salvation
Transformation
(Resource cataloged by David R Smith)
