Finally Arrived...?

Compose a 500 word blog post regarding what you have gained over the semester, what kinds of inspirations it has fostered, and how you plan to use what you learned in the future.

                The reading and videos, and the discussions, that I engaged with during the course of this class have provided me with a number of significant insights and pieces of information that, I hope, will become seeds of wisdom. I feel that I have gained much. To begin with, diving into the center and foundation of John Wesley’s foundation has made me more grateful that God brought me away from Reformed circles and into The Wesleyan Church. Frankly, the more I read from or about John Wesley – his sermons, his books, and stories about his life – the more I am inspired, and the more I think, “This man really got it”.

                Wesley’s theology of salvation, as I have learned, combines both a traditional Western view of legal atonement for sin and an Eastern understanding of renewal – restoration of the image of God in a person that has become warped by sin. This class was especially timely (thank God!) because that second understanding of salvation in general was recently brought to my attention by a friend I am currently engaging in dialogue with about theology and life. I have come to see how valuable this perspective is; no longer will I view salvation only in legal terms of guilt and pardon! (I do not diminish this incredibly important aspect in any way, of course).

                This has directly impacted how I talk to the teens in my ministry context about the salvation that God offers through Jesus Christ. I primarily minister to teens who are not followers of Jesus and have no (or very limited) context or framework for the gospel message. Speaking about the way of salvation in terms of healing and restoration is something that they can easily see, and it has already intrigued some of them who come from broken homes and dangerous, chaotic environments. This expansion of my understanding of salvation itself has already impacted my ministry.

                I have also been inspired by the learning from this class to think more seriously about Christian perfection as Wesley understood it. I believe, at least from my own experience, that this is one of the more misunderstood parts of Wesley’s theology in general. (I certainly rejected it wholesale when I first heard it, coming from a Reformed tradition). In recent years, as I have learned more about this concept, I have gravitated toward viewing it as a pleasant ideal, a high mark to strive for, but not something that can be seriously reached. This has changed in recent weeks, thanks to learning more about it through this class. Taking Christian Perfection more seriously will, I think, help me take life itself more seriously. I wrote in a discussion post that hearing and thinking about Wesley’s view on the purpose of God’s grace made me think more carefully about my own existence. I plan to use this going forward to be more focused and purposeful in my manner of living. I do not want to idly wander through life; God has a grand, glorious purpose for each human life, including my own, and I want to receive and see all that he has to offer. I want more of him, and I know he will give me more of himself as I continue to seek him.

                “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” – Revelation 22:21 (NIV)