A Humble Perspective

John Wesley made the following statement about 8 years before his death "while contemplating his critical situation" during a serious illness that he thought would end his life:
I have been reflecting on my past life; I have been wandering up and down between fifty and sixty years, endeavouring in my poor way to do a little good to my fellow-creatures; and now it is probable, that there are but a few steps between me and death; and what have I done to trust to for salvation? I can see nothing which I have done or suffered that will bear looking at. I have no other plea than this, 'I the chief of sinners am, But Jesus died for me.' This was his language to the last.

When John Wesley was born, there was not a major global denomination or even a small group of people called the Methodists. The Church of England (Anglican) was the established dominant church of the day and nobody had significantly tried to reform the church or build a separate denomination to challenge it. Mr. Wesley dates his conversion in 1738 and the first Methodist Society was formed in 1739 and was comprised of John, his brother Charles, and a small congregation of disciples. They set themselves apart from the other Anglicans by their disciplined "methods" of following Christ and their devoted focus to the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith. The Society grew exponentially throughout John's life and at the time of his death the church was in many different countries and the global membership had surpassed 1 Million (600,000 in the USA).

John Wesley had assurance of his salvation and had accomplished plenty to be proud of. Yet he sincerely said, "I can see nothing which I have done or suffered that will bear looking at."

Who honestly says this kind of thing?

This humble perspective on life and personal accomplishment reminds me of chapter 3 of Paul's letter to the Philippians.

In verse 4 Paul says, "If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more" before he lists all of the personal accomplishments that he could brag about. But he goes on to say, "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ..."

These two humble perspectives both challenge and bother me. I say "bother" because I know that this is the right and true perspective that a Christ follower ought to have and I know that I don't most of the time. My personal accomplishments and fruit produced through ministry don't begin to compare to those of Apostle Paul and John Wesley, yet I find that I am guilty of claiming them for myself at times and taking pride in them.

I am humbled as I'm reminded that the redeeming work of Christ on the cross is the true work that brings salvation and brings us back into relationship with our Creator, therefore enabling fruitful work through his followers.

Stay Humble,
Daniel

Source: "The Life of the Rev. John Wesley." In The Works of John Wesley, Vol 5., 9-47. Third ed. Reprinted from 1872 edition. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007.