What did John and Charles Wesley have that I don’t?

Saturday, October 15, 2011

After an authentic and informal Saturday service at Radcliff United Methodist Church which included wonderful music and authentic preaching from Rev. Kaye and Frankie Nunn, I felt compelled to share some of my personal story.

Very Late Evening Meditation <><

What did John and Charles Wesley have that I don’t?

                When I was a little girl, I remember my mother in her deathbed reading her Bible, writings of Sta. Teresa de Avila, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, St. Augustine, and Oswald Chambers. As the years passed, I had become skeptical and I stopped reading my Bible, spiritual classics, and also attending church, or when I did attend my heart and mind were in another place.

Consequently, my skepticism turned into sarcasm and finally in a sour bitterness from inside myself toward the world.  At that time, I doubted of God’s grace in my life and my lack of inner peace was evident. Deep down, my soul was longing for something, but I did not know what it was.

Then I decided start attending the church again, reading my Bible and adding some serious intellectual and profound spiritual readings. I heard about John and Charles Wesley’s passionate love for Jesus Christ. I kept my hesitation. However, I was/am Methodist, so I decided to be informed about the founders of Methodism, John Wesley and Charles Wesley.

 As my readings passed, I discovered that my soul was yearning for what was recorded in Wesley’s’ biography, a personal encounter with the living Jesus Christ. One Sunday morning in the service when the pastor was proclaiming the Word of God, I heard, “If John Wesley had his personal experience with God, then I can also have one.” Unexpectedly, I agreed with such a statement.

I started asking God for assurance in Jesus Christ. I really needed a personal experience with my Lord and Savior. At the end of my first semester as a seminary student, I was confused, angry, and desperate for an answer. I was in a deep spiritual crisis. Then, one morning when I was praying and crying in the prayer room at the chapel in the seminary, God, in God’s infinite mercy toward me, allowed me to feel a profound and warming love for Jesus Christ. At that moment, I knew that Jesus was/is real. 

Finally, I obtained what John and Charles Wesley’s had, a passionate love for Jesus. I also learned that Jesus Christ is accessible for each one who earnestly, boldly, authentically, and persistently seeks for Him.

With Love and Respect,
               

Blessings in Christ <><,

Claudia Nava-Galloway