Jonathan Edwards: Loved by the Creator

<p>On October 5, 1703, in East Windsor, Connecticut, Jonathan Edwards was born—the son of Timothy Edwards, a pastor, and Esther Edwards, his wife. Young Jonathan soon found himself surrounded by ten sisters, who—because of their average height of six feet—came to be identified by the townsfolk as Timothy’s sixty feet of daughters.</p><p>.</p><p>Jonathan was a gifted child and progressed easily through his father’s rigorous home schooling and, at a young age, came to trust Jesus Christ as his Savior. From very early on, Jonathan was concerned about his relationship with God. At times, he worried about the possibility that he was not converted. His diary provided</p><p>him a tool for examining what God had done in his life. As he approached his nineteenth birthday, he even wrote his “Resolutions,” a series of instructions for life and guidelines for personal examination. For Jonathan, these resolutions became a spiritual discipline that encouraged him in his walk with Christ and were one of two great interests in his young life.</p><p>.</p><p>The second area of young Jonathan’s interest was the creation around him. He was fascinated with the star-studded sky and God’s bountiful display laid out in nature. As he walked daily in the densely wooded New England countryside, he would spend hours contemplating the intricacies of a spider web or the wonders of creation all around him.</p><p>.</p><p>But Jonathan’s curiosity and delight in God, His works, and His world lingered long beyond his teenage years. Edwards entered Yale College at age thirteen, later graduated with a master’s degree, and was eventually called to pastor a church in Northampton, Massachusetts.</p><p>.</p><p>Like Jonathan Edwards, we as Christians can take great comfort in God’s love for us in Jesus, reveling in the beauty of the universe He made and knowing that He walks alongside us no matter what challenges we face in our walk with Him. • Mark Congrove</p><p>.</p><p>• Jonathan Edwards grew in his faith by reflecting on his Creator while spending ti