LIFE AFTER DEATH!

As Adoniram Judson graduated from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, his parents reveled in his presentation of the valedictory address. He was a bright boy and his father, a pastor, welcomed his son back home to start a school. By the following year, he was both a successful schoolteacher and an accomplished author.

This seemingly stable young man, who faithfully attended church with his family, suddenly announced one day that he was leaving teaching to become a playwright in New York. His parents were astounded. Upon questioning him, they found that Adoniram had been deeply influenced by a fellow student at Brown University named Jacob Eames.

Eames had convinced Adoniram that there was nothing of substance to Christianity, and since Adoniram had never been born again, Jacob's arguments seemed to fit what he knew. Jacob Eames had succeeded in turning Adoniram into a man without earthly or eternal hope. Adoniram determined to follow his friend's philosophy of living only for the moment.

After a few unsuccessful weeks in New York, Adoniram Judson decided to go west to seek his fortune. When he stopped at an inn to spend the night, he was told the only available room was next to one of a man who was dying.

Adoniram lay awake most of the night, listening to the sounds from the next room and thinking about where he himself would go when he died. As he checked out the next morning, he was told that the man had died, and that his name had been Jacob Eames!

That day, he decided to search for the truth back in his hometown. At home, Adoniram talked to his father and some other Christians about the possibility of a real relationship with God.

Finally, he himself confessed to God his sin, and placed his complete faith and trust in the price that Jesus Christ had paid on the cross. He at last found peace with himself and God, through accepting God's gift of eternal life.

Adoniram Judson eventually married and traveled to Burma as a missionary, laboring for six years before having his first convert. By the time of his death, he had translated the entire Bible into Burmese, and on the one-hundredth anniversary of his death it was estimated there were two hundred thousand Christians in Burma.

Yes, Adoniram Judson died, and Jacob Eames died, but Judson's life work lives on and his spirit rests eternally with the Lord.