They took her father captive months before young Ann was ever born. He was a prisoner of war. For Ann, her father exists only in wrinkled snapshots and in the memories of her Mom and grandparents. Ann has never seen him facetoface, but she has heard about his smile, and his agility as a highschool halfback. She has heard that he was looking forward to her birth with great eagerness. The last thing he said to her Mom as the train pulled out of the station was, "Look after our child real well."

To Ann her father is a stranger and yet not a stranger at all. He is really very dear to her even though she has never laid eyes on him. Not having seen him, she still loves him.

Such was the situation of that second generation of Christian believers. They were very much like young Ann. They were no…