Thursday, September 20, 2007

Quotable Edwards


"The kindling and raising of gracious affections is like kindling a flame; the higher it is raised, the more ardent it is; and the more it burns, the more vehemently does it tend and seek to burn." Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections pg. 303

I confess that there are times in my life when the flame of my affections for Christ seems to only flicker. It is at those times when I realize it is because I have cast my attention in another direction or idly failed to stoke the blaze. Mind you, the flame does not go out. It can not go out due to the eternal nature of its source.

There is a genuine tension with regard to our "affections." We have come to them because of the work of God in our hearts and lives. Yet, there is a duty that lies with us. To stoke the fire that was set by the Spirit himself.

It is proper for us to seek to have within us a roaring blaze. That is my desire.