From my journal: Samuel Logan Brengle (died 1932) was a Salvation Army commissioner. Among Salvationists, he has always been appreciated as one of their greatest evangelists. When a young man, Brengle was converted to Jesus one night through the preaching of the Army's founder, William Booth, when the general visited Boston at the turn of the 20th century.

Toward the end of my sermon last Sunday, I read to our congregation Brengle's description of the "morning after" his conversion experience.

"I walked over Boston Commons before breakfast," Brengle wrote, "weeping for joy and praising God … In that hour I knew Jesus, and I loved Him till it seemed my heart would break with love … I was filled with love for all His creatures. … I heard the little sparrows chattering; I loved them … I loved the dogs, I loved the horses, I loved the little urchins on the street. I love the strangers who hurried past me, I loved the heathen—I loved the whole world."

When ...