Dec 29, 2022

Jonathan Edwards’ Driving Passion

2 Min Read

Jonathan Edwards lived with one driving passion: soli Deo gloria—for the glory of God alone. His master purpose in all things, his overarching aim in all of life, was to bring honor and majesty to the name of God. He desired to exalt the greatness of God with every breath he drew and with every step he took. Every thought, every attitude, every choice, and every undertaking must be for the glory of God.

Each of Edwards’ seventy resolutions was centered on this supreme passion for God’s honor. Through these ambitious purpose statements, Edwards pursued his passion for glorifying God in all things. His God-centered vision pulled him and propelled him forward in all of life. It was God, majestic and holy in His infinite being, whose sovereignty knows no limits, whose grace knows no bounds, whom Edwards kept constantly before his adoring eyes. It was God, sufficient in Himself and all-sufficient for His people, whom Edwards sought with all his might to please. It was God who became Edwards’ goal in daily Christian living and whom he pursued with radical resolve and holy ambition. Amid all his labors as a pastor, Edwards remained riveted upon God, who is the beginning, the middle, and the end of all things, the first cause and last end, and everything in between. God Himself has made the promotion of His glory to be His highest end, and Edwards, likewise, lived for this above all else.

God Himself has made the promotion of His glory to be His highest end, and Edwards, likewise, lived for this above all else.

In this day, some three hundred years after Edwards’ time, there is a desperate need for a new generation to arise onto the scene of history that will prize and promote the glory of our awesome God. Beholding the soul-capturing vision of this all-supreme, all-sovereign, and all-sufficient God transforms individuals in life-altering ways. This is what we learn from Edwards, and this is what we must experience in our own lives. Our lofty theology, centered on God Himself, must be translated into daily Christian living in practical ways.

May God raise up a growing host in this day that will be consumed with striving to be holy just as He is holy. May God give to His church an army of followers of Christ who are radically surrendered and fully devoted to Him. May such a righteous remnant come in due season for the cause of another Great Awakening. And may Edwards’ “Resolutions” be the footprints they follow.