Celebrating the Life of John Calvin
Today is the 500th anniversary of the birth of the great pastor, scholar, and theologian called John Calvin. Would you take a moment today and read the following sent to me by one of the deacons of our church and would you take a minute and thank the Lord that we stand upon the broad shoulders of such godly, faithful, and humble such as Calvin.
John Calvin was born on July 10, 1509, in Noyon, France and died May 27, 1564, at Geneva, Switzerland. A letter written in 1570 by the minister of the French congregation in London, speaks highly of Calvin: ‘When I look back upon his frankness and integrity, his affectionate benevolence towards me and the familiar intimacy which I enjoyed for sixteen years, I cannot but grieve for my separation for such a friend, or, I would say, such a father. What labors, watchings and anxieties did he endure! With what wisdom and discernment did he foresee all dangers and how skillfully did he go out to meet them! No words of mine can declare the fidelity and prudence with which he gave counsel, the kindness with which he received all who came to him, the cleverness and promptness with which he replied to those who asked for his opinion on the most important questions, and the ability with which he disentangled the difficulties and problems which were laid before him. Nor can I express the gentleness with which he would console the afflicted and raise the fallen and distressed, or his courage in adversity and moderation in prosperity.’
- From The Reformation of the Sixteenth Century by Leonard Cowie
Finally, in his testament [April 25, 1564], setting before God the balance sheet of his life, John Calvin confessed: "He has had mercy on me, his poor creature, . . . to draw me to the brightness of his gospel and to make me a sharer in the doctrine of salvation, of which I was so unworthy, . . . he has put up with me even in the midst of faults and weaknesses which really deserved rejection a thousand times by him. But what is more, he extended his mercy to me until then I served him and labored for him in order to set forth and proclaim the truth of his gospel. . . . Alas! The desire and zeal which I had, if one can call it that, has been so cold and so lax that I feel indebted in all things and all places, and, if it not for his great and infinite kindness, all the affection that I have had would only be smoke. To see the good things that he has done for me only makes me more guilty, so that my only recourse is to the One who, being the Father of all mercy, may be and show himself to be the Father of one who is such a wretched sinner."
- From The Humanness of John Calvin by Richard Stauffer, Translated by George Shriver
John Calvin was born on July 10, 1509, in Noyon, France and died May 27, 1564, at Geneva, Switzerland. A letter written in 1570 by the minister of the French congregation in London, speaks highly of Calvin: ‘When I look back upon his frankness and integrity, his affectionate benevolence towards me and the familiar intimacy which I enjoyed for sixteen years, I cannot but grieve for my separation for such a friend, or, I would say, such a father. What labors, watchings and anxieties did he endure! With what wisdom and discernment did he foresee all dangers and how skillfully did he go out to meet them! No words of mine can declare the fidelity and prudence with which he gave counsel, the kindness with which he received all who came to him, the cleverness and promptness with which he replied to those who asked for his opinion on the most important questions, and the ability with which he disentangled the difficulties and problems which were laid before him. Nor can I express the gentleness with which he would console the afflicted and raise the fallen and distressed, or his courage in adversity and moderation in prosperity.’
- From The Reformation of the Sixteenth Century by Leonard Cowie
Finally, in his testament [April 25, 1564], setting before God the balance sheet of his life, John Calvin confessed: "He has had mercy on me, his poor creature, . . . to draw me to the brightness of his gospel and to make me a sharer in the doctrine of salvation, of which I was so unworthy, . . . he has put up with me even in the midst of faults and weaknesses which really deserved rejection a thousand times by him. But what is more, he extended his mercy to me until then I served him and labored for him in order to set forth and proclaim the truth of his gospel. . . . Alas! The desire and zeal which I had, if one can call it that, has been so cold and so lax that I feel indebted in all things and all places, and, if it not for his great and infinite kindness, all the affection that I have had would only be smoke. To see the good things that he has done for me only makes me more guilty, so that my only recourse is to the One who, being the Father of all mercy, may be and show himself to be the Father of one who is such a wretched sinner."
- From The Humanness of John Calvin by Richard Stauffer, Translated by George Shriver