My very dear child, what shall I say: A holy and good God has covered us with a dark cloud. O that we may kiss the rod, and lay our hands on our mouths! The Lord has done it. He has made me adore his goodness that we had him so long. But my God lives; and he has my heart. O what a legacy my husband, and your father, has left to us! We are all given to God: and there I am and love to be. -Sarah Edwards
There's been interest generated this week among some concerning the quote I used in my message Sunday from Sarah Edwards, wife of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), quite possibly the greatest theologian ever born in the New World. The quote comes from a letter that Sarah wrote to her daughter, Esther, after receiving the news that Jonathan had passed away as the result of an inoculation that had taken hold and brought with it a full dose of smallpox to Edwards. Sadly, Esther never got a chance to read the letter. Just two weeks after her father's death, Esther contracted a fever that took her from this world quickly. She left behind two infant children, one of whom (Aaron) would eventually rise to the Vice Presidency of the United States. And the sad news doesn't stop there. Sarah herself did not live long without her husband. She died in October of the same year from dysentery, just three days before her husband would have celebrated his 56th birthday. She never had to observe a special day separated from the husband that she loved and respected so much.
Sarah was a godly woman and a source of both joy and support to Jonathan. She was intelligent and wise, leading their family from the home while Jonathan labored most of their married life as a pastor and theologian of a small parish church. Anyone who assumes that Christian women are mousy, demure and ignorant would be laughed off by anyone who knew Sarah, or countless millions of other Christian women past and present who choose to listen to the wisdom of Scripture rather than the wisdom of this world. A few of those women died for their Christian faith and many more lived boldly in and for that faith. A true Christian woman who understands who she is in light of the Scriptures is a wonder to behold. I've taken a bit of light-hearted ribbing this week for spending so much time Sunday speaking to wives and substantially less time speaking to husbands. That's because I'm a husband. : ) Actually, you can blame it on Peter. He's the one who addressed more teaching toward wives than he did husbands in this particular setting. No matter how you shake it, however, there was important teaching for all of us from Peter's words Sunday, single and married alike.
On a different note, we are fast approaching summer, and it has been my tradition since arriving at LifePoint seven years ago to offer a short summer book study. This summer's study will begin on Tuesday, May 24, and run through Tuesday, June 28. We will meet each Tuesday morning from 6:30-7:30 a.m. here at the church. I know that's early! I do it this way to allow those who work each morning to participate and still make it to their destination by 8:00 a.m. Our book study this year will be the Christian classic from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship. Bonhoeffer was a German theologian and pastor during the rise of the Third Reich. He suffered martyrdom by the direct command of Hitler for his participation in the underground church and his involvement in a failed assassination attempt on Hitler's life. It is a book that is well worth the read. I hope you'll consider joining us in the study. I've purchased some books and they are available in the church office. Please contact the church office to sign up for the study and stop by to pick up a book if you do not own it already. The cost of the book is $10.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jym