"Is all that in the Bible?" Edwin asked in astonishment; "and is it so that
God's Son once lived upon this earth?"
"Yes, Edwin, it is true," Mrs. Kauffman answered. Then she read and explained Heb. 1:1-3 and 5:8, 9: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him."
She then told him that the place where Jesus had lived was far away from there, but that it was a country similar to our own. As she continued to talk about Jesus' home, Edwin exclaimed, "Oh, if only I could some time go and see that place for myself!" But when he thought of what such a trip would cost, his hope of ever getting there was destroyed. As Edwin considered the wonderful love that had prompted God and his Son to make so great a sacrifice for men and women who had been disobedient to his laws and commands, his heart was flooded with love for his Creator, and he cried:
"I knew that God must have made some way for man to know where he was going to land in eternity! Jesus is that provision. I can see it all now, and the assurance that we are going aright is that we are obedient to God?" he added with a rising inflection.
"Yes, it is obedience to God," Mrs. Kauffman explained. "But there is more to his plan than that. God wants us to love and reverence his Son for all that he has done. To do this we must ask God to forgive and to receive us back into his family for Jesus' sake. This is a true prayer when it comes from the heart."
"Is that the prayer that I prayed when I was converted?" Edwin asked, remembering the three little words that he had selected from one of the prayers in Mr. Meyer's tent.
"No," Mrs. Kauffman replied; "your prayer was different. It was really no prayer at all, but you see you did not understand these things or know how to pray. God knew what you wanted, because he understands the heart, and he knew that you would have asked for it in proper words if you could have understood."
Both Mr. and Mrs. Kauffman were very good to Edwin; for after he had left their neighborhood, they had learned something of his worth. Every day during the meeting they endeavored in some way to help him to understand what it means to be a Christian, and some of the wonderful things that are in the Bible. Much of their effort was lost, however, because of his ignorance, but it seemed that each time he was able to grasp a new thought that would correspond and link on to his own experience.
When the last day of the camp-meeting arrived, Edwin was sorry, for he felt that it had been a good place to be; but since he had received the benefit for which he had come, he was ready to return to the farm and fulfil his agreement with Mr. Miller and do all that he could to make up for the time that he had been away at the meeting. The Kauffmans, Itterlys, and Meyers had all given him pressing invitations to visit them in their homes, and with many happy remembrances of the meeting in his mind he was soon well on his way down the dusty road in the direction of his employer's home.
Again he noted the sweet songs of the little birds, and nature seemed all aglow with her beauty and grandeur; but as before, when he was on his way to the meeting, his mind was too full of weightier things to give outside things much thought or attention.