Another Day Trip - Northampton (Jonathan Edwards and the Great Awakening)

Took a trip with the fam to Northampton, MA, about a two and half hour drive each way from home.  I procrastinated this visit for awhile, even though I love Edwards, simply because there is so little about Edwards at Northampton.  Even though he pastored there for many years and it was the home of the First Great Awakening, the town seems to barely recognize this fact.  It's a fun town to walk around in, with plenty of shops and restaurants, yet the only real remaining reminder of Edwards legacy is his church, First Churches of Northampton which has a few token memorials to him.  On their website it is clear that they no longer accept Biblical authority and are uneasy about their historical connection with Edwards.

I consider Jonathan Edwards to be the greatest American theologian, and a man who truly treasured God and exalted Christ, holding firm to the Scriptures.  He truly loved his wife and children, and ministered faithfully (though not perfectly) in Northampton.  No doubt he is in perfect happiness with his redeemer:

"The enjoyment of [God] is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams. But God is the ocean."(J. Edwards)