THREE SIMPLE RULES: STAY IN LOVE WITH GOD
In recent years, there has been a discussion concerning "The United Methodist Method." It is the method John Wesley called the "General Rules" of the Methodist movement. These "rules" were expectations of all who participated in the movement. Following them was evidence of the desire of salvation. (The "General Rules" can be found in paragraph 104 (pages 77-80) of The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church 2016).
In his book, Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living, Bishop Rueben P. Job focuses upon the "General Rules" as set forth by John Wesley. Bishop Job writes:
Ordinance is a strange word to our ears. But to John Wesley, it was a word that described the practices that kept the relationship between God and humans vital, alive, and growing. He names public worship of God, the Lord's Supper, private and family prayer, searching the Scriptures, Bible Study, and fasting as essential to a faithful life...Wesley saw these disciplines as central to any life of faithfulness to God in Christ. He saw that the consistent practice of these spiritual disciplines kept those who sought to follow Christ in touch with the presence and power of Christ so they could fulfill their desire to live as faithful disciples.
It is in these practices that we learn to hear and respond to God's direction. It is in these practices that we learn to trust God revealed in Jesus Christ. It is in these practices that we learn of God's love for us. It is where our love for God is nurtured and sustained. Incorporating these practices in our way of living will keep us in love with God and assure us of God's love for us in this world and the world to come.
Three times Jesus asked Simon Peter "Do you love me?" (John 21) To ask the question three times reveals something essential about our relationship with God. Staying in love of God was the primary issue of a faithful life then, and it is today.
Bishop Job writes, "For from such a life of love for God will flow the goodness and love of God to the world. It can be no other way. One who is deeply in love will be constantly formed and transformed by that relationship. And such a transformed life will be a natural channel of God's goodness, power, and presence in the world.
"Holy living will not be discovered, achieved, continued, and sustained without staying in love with God. And while staying in love with God involves prayer, worship, study, and the Lord's Supper, it also involves feeding the lambs, tending the sheep, and providing for he needs of others.
"Feeding the lambs and tending the sheep are the signs of love that we exchange with God...signs of the love that the world can understand. Spiritual disciplines not only include practices that bind us to God...but they also include actions that heal the pain, injustice, and inequality of our world. It is impossible to stay in love with God and not desire to see God's goodness and grace shared with the entire world.
"The rules are simple, but the way is not easy. Only those with great courage will attempt it, and only those with great faith will be able to walk this exciting and demanding way."
The intentional act of practicing these simple rules was central to the Methodist movement that transformed and gave new life to Christians, setting them on a path that became a movement that transformed England, and formed a nation in North America.
The question is, are we ready to choose the costly way that involves these three simple rules as our way of living? Are we ready to make that high and holy choice of doing no harm, doing good, and staying in love with God? I pray so!
