What Religion Does for People


O taste and see that the Lord is good.--Ps. 34: 8.

To find out how good the Lord is, you must taste for yourself.

The best argument for religion is the experience of people who have tried it. Here is an argument that is written large in the lives of millions of people. To these people, religion is no mere theory, no mere theology. They feel something, something deep and real. They have experienced something, something vital and life-changing, something sustaining, something satisfying, something inspiring.

In the little village where I spent my boyhood, there was a man who stands out in my memory. You could go through that village and ask every person you met about him, and they would every one say, “That man’s got religion.” Not in the least was he ostentatious. On the contrary, one of the traits which gained for him such high and universal esteem was his meekness and humility.

There was nothing unusual about this man, except that he made it his chief aim to live his religion. He possessed no outstanding gifts or talents. He was not the kind of man the world would regard as successful. Luxuries were wholly unknown to him. Yet he seemed perfectly contented. I never heard him utter a word that indicated the least envy of others because they had things he could not have. I never knew a more faithful man--he was faithful to every duty. He was one of the happiest men I have ever known. I never saw him in a grouch, never saw any mark on his face that betrayed an unhappy mood. Always and everywhere, he greeted you with a pleasant look, a kindly word, and a smile of good cheer. He was strictly religious, but he carried his religion with a smile. At the prayer-meetings of his church he always gave his testimony. And what a joyful and inspiring testimony it was! It would make anybody, even a hardened sinner, want to be a Christian to hear him sing, as I often heard him, “’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word, just to rest upon His promise . . . O for grace to trust Him more!” Many times I saw him face the congregation and cry, “O taste and see that the Lord is good!” He had his troubles, but in time of trouble he leaned hard on God and confided in His love.

This man’s life provides a shining example of what religion does for people.