the Stembridge Family website

Resolved!

As the new year begins, I have been thinking about resolutions, and the fact that I really haven’t been that interested in declaring any, for many, many years. I just finished reading “The Holiness of God”, by RC Sproul, and was re-introduced to Jonathon Edwards, who has written some incredibly powerful sermons, one of which is “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. Jonathon was a colonial American Congregational preacher, theologian, and missionary to Native Americans, and also was one to write down resolutions in a diary. He viewed these resolutions as a place for him to stand, and a compass top guide him as he made his way out.
As I read through some of his resolutions, I was almost embarrassed at the thought of what my resolutions would be, He was quite serious about his relationship with God. Read some of these, and see what I mean:

1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God’ s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence…

4. Resolved, never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God; nor be, nor suffer it, if I can avoid it.

6. Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.

7. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.

10. Resolved, when I feel pain, to think of the pains of martyrdom, and of hell.

14. Resolved, never to do any thing out of revenge.

33. Resolved, to do always, what I can towards making, maintaining, and preserving peace, when it can be done without overbalancing detriment in other respects. Dec. 26, 1722.