Wesley

Though we can't think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion?
- John Wesley

It's raining again. It's still chilly, so I snuggle with my blanket to keep warm in the extreme dampness. What better way to spend a rainy afternoon then to finish reading Revival by Adam Hamilton? This short book is on the life and faith of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. It is the book selected for a church-wide reading, so I thought I would jump in as well.

With my cup of Yorkshire Tea in my thrifted York mug (York is such a quaint medieval town in northeast England) I read about John Wesley and his time at Oxford (living at Christ Church College and then becoming a fellow of Lincoln College in the late 1720s), where he and a few close Christian friends would meet regularly (like a small group) and started the Methodist movement, which of course seemed extreme at the time. He gave sermons at St. Mary's University Church in Oxford and his talks were so full of passion and challenges that many church goers did not like him. At the time in English history, the morals and virtues were skewed and needed a revival. Slave trade was the norm and it seemed that the spirit of the church was lukewarm, which is a dangerous place to be. John brought the hammer down hard on the congregations, and they didn't always like that.

But John wasn't perfect, himself, and many years were required for him to grow in wisdom and spiritual maturity. As it is for all of us. But being challenged is good, and we need the encouragement to change for the better. To bring all aspects of our lives to God's purpose. In everything we do, it should be to the glory of God. This is an aspect of truth that John focused on a lot. He travelled all over the UK, more than 240,000 miles! John also brought Methodism over to America via Savannah. 

John also focused on how it is by the grace of God that we are redeemed, not by works. But it is vitally important to get out there in the world to help others who are poor and needy. He recognized it is because of Christ, not anything we do or can do, that we are made whole. He saw a gap between earth and heaven, where sometimes the basic needs of people (like food and clothing) was lacking, and we as Christians should be helping to fill that gap.

The book also had some travel notes at the end of each chapter, detailing the places to see in England that have bits of Wesley history, like Christ Church College, where I spent time last year, and saw the plaque on the ground of Christ Church Cathedral, where I attended Evensong many evenings.