"And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God."— Luke xiii. 29.
For years one passage of Scripture has been to me a beacon light, towering high above the rocks and waves of human existence. It is this: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Prov. iii. 5, 6. From a child the one cardinal question of Life to me was, Where and What is God? Carefully reared by loving parents in the sturdy atmosphere of New England, brought up as a Unitarian of the old or Channing school, my religious education was one of liberality of thought, freedom from dogma and creed, and one in which rationality and character were of far greater importance than profession and mysticism.
Growing up under such teachings, life's outlook promised to be bright indeed; until boyhood's unquestioning acceptance of the spiritual instruction given by my parents began to be outgrown, and I found myself most naturally questioning many points of doctrine heretofore seemingly above all reach of doubt. At this time, notwithstanding my sincere efforts to live a life worthy of emulation, physical ills rushed in upon me, and most of my time was spent in the doctor's care or in vain efforts to ward off approaching prostration. All this suffering made me more anxious than ever to know God, yet I could not help wondering why I was thus afflicted while making such honest efforts to be a Christian.
