In honor of Independence Day the following is a thought from America’s greatest theologian, Jonathan Edwards.

“No notion of God’s last end in creation of the world is agreeable to reason, which would truly imply any indigence, insufficiency and mutability in God, or any dependence of the Creator on the creature for any part of his perfection or happiness.

Though it be true that God’s glory and happiness…are infinite and cannot be added to, and …(are) perfectly independent of the creature; yet it does not hence follow, nor is it true, that God has no real and proper delight, pleasure, or happiness in any of his acts or communications relative to the creature.

God has respect to himself, as his last and highest end, in this work; because he is worthy in himself to be so, being infinitely the greatest and best of beings. All things else, with regard to worthiness, importance, and excellence, are perfectly as nothing in comparison to him.

All that is ever spoken of in the Scripture as an ultimate end of God’s works is included in that one phrase, the glory of God.”

Jonathan Edwards from The End of Which God Created the World as quoted in John Piper’s God’s Passion for His Glory