A Higher Calling

I recently wrote about my frustration with the song ‘Precious Puritans’ by Propaganda. Many other people have written similarly about it voicing the same frustations. Well today I’m going to follow a similar vein and look back at history again. So many times we view many of our church fathers through rose colored glasses, refusing to acknowledge or think about their shortcomings. One such example is John Wesley. Many people remember his brother Charles Wesley for the many hymns he wrote, such as “And Can It Be” “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” and “O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing” One area many people fail to look at is a marriage. John Wesley’s marriage was terrible! If a pastor is unable to treat his wife the way Christ treats the church then that man shouldn’t be preaching. I realize that no one today is perfect, but a Christian man is called to lovingly and sacrificially give everything for his wife. This is of utmost importance. You can read more about Wesley’s failed marriage here.  So what does this mean for single people like me? It means preparing yourself to give yourself to your, Lord willing, spouse someday. It is only through God’s grace that we can find the strength to die to ourselves.

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by mikethestrand on November 20, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Blog, Church, History

Posted by mikethestrand on November 20, 2012

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2012/11/20/a-higher-calling/

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2 Comments

  1. Louise's avatar

    Louise

     /  November 24, 2012

    Hi Pastor Mike, I saw this article too and took note of this part.

    “Molly Vazeille was a widow who had four children and a nice inheritance from her late husband. She had moved up in social standing (due to the inheritance and prominence she gained though her late husband) and was a viable candidate for marriage.

    John Wesley and Molly Vazeille had a very long courtship of 16 days. Obviously, they had a well-thought out vision of marital expectations (sarcasm!). Seriously, how well can you get to know someone by dating only 16 days? In all due fairness, Wesley and Vazeille were both older and short courtships were more common at that culture and time. One could see this as a marriage on the rebound. Wesley’s failed engagement a few years before left him somewhat bitter and wanting.”

    It doesn’t sound like much love could have been involved more like a marriage of convenience or a business arrangement on his part since she had an inheritance and all. No wonder it turned out so poorly. Yikes!

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  2. mikethestrand's avatar

    mikethestrand

     /  November 27, 2012

    I agree! It’s really sad that 1-his brother ruined his potential marriage to the woman he loved and that 2-his home life was such a mess. I hope and pray I don’t fall into the same error in my own life!

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