Resolved

As a new year begins, many of us write down or at least think about New Year’s resolutions. Some of these are practical and good, such as pursuing a healthier lifestyle, better stewardship of time, or greater consistency in prayer and Scripture. Yet resolutions can also expose a deeper problem. We often aim too low, drift too quickly, and forget why we resolved anything in the first place. At least, that has been my experience.

That is why, toward the end of December, I like to return to Jonathan Edwards’s Resolutions. Edwards began writing these at the age of nineteen and continued adding to them over several years, eventually totaling seventy resolutions. They were not New Year’s resolutions in the modern sense, but a carefully constructed rule of life aimed at holiness, discipline, and the glory of God. Like many Puritans before him, Edwards wrote them as a deliberate strategy for spiritual growth. Where our modern resolutions often focus on self-improvement, Edwards’s resolutions were concerned with living for God’s glory. They were meant to serve as a continual reminder to live with eternity in view, to take sin seriously, to pursue holiness intentionally, and to order all of life under the lordship of Christ.

Below is a link to Edwards’s Resolutions. I encourage you to read through them devotionally. Consider how he approached resolutions. Consider that his aim was wholehearted discipleship. Let them challenge and shape your own thinking as you consider the year ahead.

Click Link: https://o.b5z.net/i/u/6021236/f/Edwards_70_resolutions.pdf