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| JOHN WESLEY |
By all the means you can.
In all the ways you can.
In all the places you can.
At all the times you can.
To all the people you can.
As long as ever you can.
John Wesley
A pastor acquaintance of mine posted this online and I thought, why not share it? How could anyone argue with John Wesley’s message?
Many pages of the New Testament share episodes in Jesus’s life that deal with doing good by people. Seems to me that Christ’s focus was doing good for and to the people his Father created.
Probably the most recognizable is the parable of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10:25-37. You probably recall that a man who was injured was ignored by several “godly” men, but the despised Samaritan opened his heart and his purse to care for the stranger. I would recommend that you pay particular attention to the last couple verses of this Gospel entry, and notice how Jesus describes the Samaritan’s actions – “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” Certainly the example of the Good Samaritan is the ultimate act of doing good for another human being.
Jesus also did good by a group of lepers, cleansing them of that terrible disease, another incident that Luke recorded for posterity in his Gospel, Chapter 17:11-19.
Again, notice that only one of the 10 who was healed came back to thank Jesus, and he was a Samaritan – verses 15-19 read, One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then [Jesus] said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Notice, if you will, that neither account condemns. Both, however, praise the actions of the Samaritan men – one by telling a man of God to “go and do likewise,” and the other by explaining that “your faith has made you well.”
It's all about doing good, right?
And Jesus did good for all. He did not discriminate. He did not admonish. He did good because that was His Father’s will.
Shouldn’t we adopt this attitude of good-doing and loving and sharing with one another? Shouldn’t we, as followers of Christ, do good for all people at all times?
As one who daily tries to take up my cross and follow Him, Luke 9:23, I sincerely believe Wesley’s message of love and caring and doing good is exactly what Christ had in mind as he traversed the land of the Bible spreading the message of grace through His life’s mission and, ultimately, His resurrection.
Interestingly enough, one dictionary definition of grace reads: mercy; clemency; pardon.
God granted all of us His grace, His clemency, His pardon, if only we would believe in His Son, Jesus Christ.
What better way to be a follower of Jesus than by doing His bidding, by loving one another, by forgiving one another, by helping one another, by doing good by, and to one another?
Food for thought, don’t you agree?
Today’s Prayer:
May God bless each and every one of you every single day in every possible way. And may we always find an avenue to do good for and to one another. Amen
Editor's note: Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references on this blog are from the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible.
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