In all honesty, I never had any particular fondness for Jonathan Edwards.
First of all I'd never actually read any of his writings, though I did know he was a famous preacher etc. Secondly he looked incredibly grumpy in all the portraits I saw of him. It didn't help that my mom had a book on Sarah Edwards and it was titled 'Marriage to a Difficult Man'--with an extra-intimidating portrait of Jonathan Edwards (and his wife) in front. (Sadly, I later found out the title was misleading; it wasn't supposed to mean that Jonathan Edwards was a difficult man to live with. Authors, please consider your title carefully; even if people don't actually read your book they can still be misled by it!) Yes, I know--I need to go read what Edwards wrote, myself, to form an accurate opinion of him--but I already have, just by reading what someone else wrote about him. As I probably have mentioned, Steve DeWitt's Eyes Wide Open was, and is, a hugely significant book to me. Sometimes you meet one of those books that change and shape you for good--they are rare indeed, but they pack a wallop that leaves their imprint on you for life. The whole concept of God's beauty (something I'd never heard anyone dwell on, let alone draw so much application from) was new to me. That the earthly beauty around us--which because of sin distracts us from, instead of leading us to--reflects His Ultimate Beauty. I soaked it all in eagerly with a growing sense of wonder and joy and thankfulness. Wow. More aspects of a wonderful God. I thought I had plunged the depth of His goodness but obviously I was far from touching bottom! And then Steve DeWitt mentioned a short anecdote about Jonathan Edwards: ' To go beyond beauty to God's beauty we must perceive the reflections of God's beauty in the world around us...This is clearly seen in the life of Jonathan Edwards. He kept a journal that he called "Shadows of Divine Things" in which he would record observations of beauty...He and his wife, Sarah, enjoyed discussing these "shadows" because they saw them as "the language of God".' (emphasis mine) Just. Awesome. In that, I glimpsed the spirit which made this man such a notable Christian. Someone who actively loved and enjoyed his God. A Shadows of Divine Things notebook! And *pop*; there was New Year Resolution ii. Beauty as the language of God. One way God speaks to us--to all of us; whether we realize it's Him or not--is the beauty He created. Listen.
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