NOTE: This article was written from the perspective of students from the Theology of John Wesley class in the hope of combining personal testimony and Wesleyan theology to better overall campus understanding.
Hurricane Maria decimated Puerto Rico.
Once the tumbling team and I landed at the airport in the summer of 2021, the damage was evident. Slain trees, muddy roads, and remnants of homes in piles of rubble were at every turn.
We wanted to help, and one of our first projects was to aid an older man repair his home. The windows had been shattered, and the front door was gone. The lack of air conditioning made the hot 102-degree heat thick. A host of animals covered the property, including chickens, goats, cats and lizards. Rats roamed his house at night, leading him to use a hammock above the floor.
It didn’t take long for love to explode among my team. We stood on each other’s shoulders to make up for the lack of ladders needed to paint his house and took the language barrier as a merry opportunity to communicate in nonverbal ways. A particular joy filled our hearts, and it took me a while, but soon I recognized the emotion for what it was: an example of Christ’s holy love.
The well-known theologian John Wesley experienced something similar in 1738 when he attended a religious meeting on Aldersgate Street in London. After studying at Oxford, he became an Anglican priest in 1728 and intellectually had a relationship with God. Yet, when his heart “was strangely warmed” at Aldersgate, Wesley realized his beliefs were now connected to his emotions or how he felt and experienced God inwardly.
This event planted seeds for the Methodist movement and the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition, which is the foundation of Asbury University’s beliefs.
Within the Methodist movement, Wesley presented a distinct overarching character of God with the reigning attribute, according to theologian Kenneth J. Collins, being “holy love.” As the name suggests, Wesley stressed God’s love and holiness as the most foundational characteristics of God.
God’s love is at the heart of relation to his creation that “sheds an amiable glory of all his other perfections” (Wesley, Explanatory Notes on the New Testament). It is the highest possible aspiration, and glory humans can look up to. But God does not merely tolerate and indulge in human happiness itself only. God is also holy. He is infinitely far from sin and evil. His holiness informs all His other divine perfections and pervades both His essential and personal attributes.
Wesley emphasized “holiness” as a key characteristic of the Christian faith (1 Pet 1:16). It is often a common misconception that holiness is equal to perfection; however, that line of thinking often does not consider the other half of holiness: love. Wesley believed that holiness is God’s standard for us because “as the more holy we are upon earth, the more happy we must be” (Wesley, God’s Love to Fallen Man).
Happiness does not mean that we get every earthly desire that we want, but it does mean that we are more like God and more satisfied in Him. Holiness rooted in love is God’s way of giving us the best life.
The significance of holy love is better seen in contrast to sin.
The impact of sin in Genesis seemed only to be the removal from the garden, which was a place of peace, fulfillment, joy, and, most importantly, fellowship with God. At the moment of that first sin, or upon expulsion from the garden, Adam and Eve suffered a spiritual death. The one thing that connected them to God had died to Him, and suddenly humanity became stranded from the ultimate source of goodness, joy and love.
As a result, humankind became bound to the consequences of its own imperfections, with our sin evermore distorting the image of God in us. Yet, while the holiness of God distinguishes and separates Him from us, His love seeks fellowship with us and reflects His will to hold communion with us.
Therefore, true joy comes from Wesley’s concept of holy love.
The moment someone is touched by God’s love, the realization of discovering that which is the best, sweetest and most fulfilling thing in the world is such a transformative experience that a natural response is to desire to be saturated by it. It is a spontaneous reaction to be filled with a holy love for God and neighbor, which is what we are commanded to do in Matthew 22:3-40.
In light of this, Wesley’s works turn out to be of great value for our Christian living in holiness. His sermons and writings are all very practical and offer precious insights into what it means to love God, love neighbor, what holiness is and how to walk in it, and why all these things are important. For that reason, knowing Wesley provides background for many ideas preached and taught today and strengthens our understanding of love and holiness.
Wesley wants us to model Christ because it is the best way to grow closer to God. This empowerment to obey God and follow the commandments allow us to experience the immense joy and fulfillment of accomplishing our mission and purpose This way, we can truly live the reality of the Kingdom of God, living the life we were created to live. Through holy love, we can find the most abundant joy, for then we can live God’s best for us.
