Christian parents often worry about sending their sons and daughters to colleges and universities. Sometimes, with good reason. Young people can lose their faith there; some lose it only to regain it later, with added strength.
Adoniram Judson grew up in parsonages around Boston in the 1700s. He entered Brown University at age sixteen and graduated valedictorian of his class. While there, he became best friends with Jacob Eames. Eames was a deist and, in practical terms, an atheist. Ridiculing Judson’s faith, Eames challenged him with the writings of Voltaire and other French philosophers. When Judson returned home, he told his parents that he, too, had become an atheist. His mother broke into gentle sobs. His father roared and threatened and pounded the furniture.
Judson, then twenty-one, migrated to New York City to establish himself as a playwright. However, hearing tales from the American frontier, he saddled his horse and headed west. One evening, weary from traveling, he stopped at an inn. The proprietor said, “Forgive me, sir, but the only room left—well, it’ll be a bit noisy. There’s a young fellow next door awfully sick.” Too tired to care, Judson took the key.
The night became a nightmare. The tramping of feet coming and going. Muffled voices. Painful groans. Chairs scraping against the floor. Judson felt troubled by it all, and he wondered what his friend Jacob Eames would say about fear, illness, and death.
The next morning, while checking out, he asked about the young man in the next room. The proprietor said, “I thought maybe you’d heard. He died, sir, toward morning. Very young. Not more than your age. Went to that Brown University out East.” Judson stiffened. The man continued, “His name was Jacob Eames.”
The West suddenly lost its allure, and Judson turned his horse toward home. Soon, he gave his life to Christ and, shortly afterward, devoted himself to missions. On February 6, 1812, Adoniram Judson was commissioned as North America’s first foreign missionary. He, his wife, and companions sailed for Burma on February 18.
Prodigals do come home.