“All have great joy in the letter which thou didst send, and hope shortly that they may behold thy face in thy native city.
“Serenus sendeth his warm brotherly greetings, and [pg 403]our father and mother have great comfort in their hearts concerning thy latter course.
“Peace and blessing be multiplied to thee!
“Rebecca.”
Tears of joy coursed down the cheeks of Saulus as he finished reading the letter. He folded it to his bosom, went out of the cave, and made his way up to a frequented seat upon the heights.
The late afternoon sun, not too hot, softly gilded the surrounding Sinaitic peaks, and kindled a golden radiance upon the vast expanse of the distant Red Sea in the west. Every tree, plant, blossom, and bird seemed to be rejoicing in the rich, warm glow which bathed heaven and earth with its beauty.
The objective world was the fitting symbol and correspondence of the joy and fruition which flooded and enlarged the soul of Saulus. The message from Rebecca softened and melted the few hard vestiges of his former state, and the tender greeting from Serenus caused a great upheaval of love and thanksgiving. The dark clouds of past memories were dissolved and scattered by the warm sunshine from Tarsus.
To Saulus the light of God was within and without, and each seemed but a varying aspect of one continuous and many-sided Revelation. Man was the crown of Nature, and in him its apex towered up until it touched and became one with its Author. How shrunken, mean, and unlovely the life of the past, which was now dimmed and even overflowed by the privileges and possibilities of the future which were unfolded before him.
A procession of months went by, and the time arrived when Saulus, strengthened and confirmed in spirit and power by his long retirement, was ready and eager to enter again the busy world of men. Any hardship, or even persecution, which he might meet would not discourage, but rather stimulate, his activity. Like other great souls who have recognized eternal principles, he knew that the progress of Truth was hastened by opposition. To encounter indifference would be far worse, but this could not be. A man whose inner nature is at a white heat must and will arouse antagonism. Error smarts when revealed by the rays of Truth. There can be no truce. Enthusiasm begets other enthusiasm, which may be either for or against itself, but in its presence stagnation is impossible. One earnest soul stored with the dynamics of Faith will accomplish more than a thousand whose spiritual outgoings are feeble and uncertain.
Saulus was deeply moved as he finally left the secluded dwelling-place which had been hallowed by so many profitable experiences, and the scene of so much soul-growth. But the fulness of time had come, and with Amoz he gladly set out upon the long journey. After an uneventful crossing of the desert they reached Damascus in due season.