Sunday May 24th is known by many Christians and churches world over as Aldersgate Sunday for it was at Aldersgate in the City of London on that particular date in 1738 that John Wesley, the co-founder of the Methodist Church, experienced what he called "his conversion". It was on that evening he felt "my heart strangely warmed, that I did trust in Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given that He had taken away my sins, even mine and saved me from the law of sin and death." That then is what John Wesley said about the effect of his conversion, but can we know about conversion itself? To get towards an answer I offer the following tentative thoughts. Conversion cannot be effected merely by words, in a gesture or a ceremony, but by a meeting far too private for anyone else to be involved other than yourself and your God. A person may be able to remember the time and place when the liberties mentioned came, but to be sure that you are loved by and belong to God, to have your heart transformed, sin forgiven, become an adopted member of His family, this is the thing above all else. If we ask ourselves the question, "What should be done when in this state?" the answer comes in God's consistant call to help Him in bringing about the better, healthier world He has for us. Which is something that Wesley tried to do in his time on earth. John F. Clarke To learn a bit more about Wesley and his life, and for activities about him for children, click here.
1 Comment
Matthew
23/5/2020 13:39:11
Thank you for this reminder of why Wesley's example remains so important today.
Reply
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
ReflectionsThe reflections here are written by members of our congregation.
|