Jonathan Edwards was a theologian and Christian preacher. He was also a Godly man that had a heart for the people he was blessed to serve. (For more on Jonathan Edwards click: Jonathan Edwards) Edwards lists and describes nine affections that Scripture encourages us
to have: holy fear, hope, love, holy desire, joy, religious sorrow,
gratitude, compassion, and zeal. It is these affections that Edwards
describes as motivation or as he labels, "the Spring of Action." These
affections cause us to move and take action for the purpose of
participation and engagement into our typical activities.
The three that I have found most often in my life are holy desire,
gratitude, and zeal. First is holy desire. From a very young age, I have
had a strong desire to know Jesus more. I think it comes from a healthy
church family and healthy Christian family. I also know that my parents
were models in this area for my sister and I. I want to be known as
being a good person that was good because of his love for God. That was
not something intrinsic to me, but something that the family
demonstrated to me and what I see as holy desire. I truly desire to be
holy, set apart for God and God's purpose.
The second is gratitude. Again, I tribute this to living in a family
that did not have large amounts of wealth, but was very wealthy in
graciousness. We had very little when I was growing up, but mom and dad
always made a way to give and to be gracious. I remember after school in
my Jr. High years going to the local food bank Monday through Thursday
to restock the shelves. The food bank closed at 4:00 PM and we would
work to fill the shelves from 4:00-5:00 PM. It was a large food bank in
Central CA. It was good exercise for me as I was the one with the dolly
and bringing in the boxes of canned goods and such. I also remember that
Mom was actually on staff at the food bank as the purchaser, so we had
an investment in the working. My parents were "go the extra mile" people
and they demonstrated to us a graciousness that has become a normal for
us as adults. Most evenings we would leave the food bank and go to the
church for a meeting, bible study, or some event that always took us to
another level of giving and graciousness. Through all of those
experiences, I do not have one memory of my parents complaining about
it. In fact, I look on these days very fondly.
The third is zeal. I think this is somewhat natural to my DNA. I am a
pretty driven person. I easily become zealous about something I am
passionate about. I praise the Lord for good mentoring, solid teaching,
and godly people around me that have helped me to grow in a Godly zeal
for the kingdom and for the advancement of the Gospel. It is evident in
our marriage and children, but the recognition goes to those that
thought enough of me to invest their time and effort so as to guide me
in a zeal for God's Spirit and Kingdom.
I think I would like to see holy fear grow more in my life. I have loved
the Lord in all that we do, but I could grow in areas that show more
respect and discernment in listening to the holiness of God in every
part of my life. I also want to be known as a person that loved. I want
to love on others. I possess a desire and zeal that engages the flesh to
leave compassion and love behind.
In all these things, I truly see these affection in a new light and will seek to discover them in more of my everyday life. You Know I Love Ya, Don
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