The page he chose was the final page -- No. 505 to be exact -- of George Marsden's 2003 biography Jonathan Edwards: A Life. What Marsden said in conclusion regarding the still influential 18th Century theologian and pastor made a profound impact on Strachan.
It is a powerful summary of not only Edwards' understanding of Scripture and God's purpose but also of our purpose in life. Here is that statement for you to dwell on:
Yet Edwards's solution -- a post-Newtonian statement of classic Augustinian themes -- can be breathtaking. God's Trinitarian essence is love. God's purpose in creating a universe in which sin is permitted must be to communicate that love to creatures. The highest or most beautiful love is sacrificial love for the undeserving. Those . . . who are given eyes to see that ineffable beauty will be enthralled by it. They will see the beauty of a universe in which unsentimental love triumphs over real evil. They will not be able to view Christ's love dispassionately but rather will respond to it with their deepest affections. Truly seeing such good they will have no choice but to love it. Glimpsing such love, they will be drawn away from their preoccupations with the gratifications of their most immediate sensations. They will be drawn from their self-centered universes. Seeing the beauty of the redemptive love of Christ is the true center of reality, they will love God and all that he has created (505).
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