Susanna Wesley was the mother of 19 kids, but her two most famous, were sons John and Charles. The Wesley brothers, along with George Whitfield founded Methodism. John Wesley was one of the most prolific preachers of the 18th century, preaching an estimated 40,000 sermon in his lifetime. His brother Charles was a great hymn writer, considered by some the best ever. Charles wrote classics such as “Hark! The Herald Angles Sing,” “Christ the Lord is Risen Today,” “And can it be that I should gain,” and “come thou long expected Jesus.”
Incredible men raised by an incredible woman.
I’ve always loved this quote from Susanna Wesley on the nature of sin.
“Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, takes off your relish for spiritual things, whatever increases the authority of the body over the mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may seem in itself.”-Susanna Wesley
There can be things that aren’t necessarily blatantly sinful, and I think this quote is a helpful insight. No, I’m not saying we should take her words as gospel, but rather, it’s a thoughtful meditation.
I think there can be a lot of situations where we get caught up thinking “can I do this?”
Some things might not be a struggle for you, but it can be a stumbling block for someone else. And vice versa.
We need to be serious about our relationship to Christ.
Our activities, the things we do, can potentially take our eyes off of God. Music we listen to or shows we watch can do that as well.
I’m not here to say what you should or shouldn’t listen to or watch. But I like Susana Wesley’s wisdom.
If you listen to anything or watch anything that weakens your sense of God, it’s sin.
It might not outwardly be that big of a deal. But for you, personally, if it’s taking your eyes off of God, it’s a sin. And it isn’t worth it.
Let us take our gospel centered purity seriously.
It’s so easy to compartmentalize our time. We act like there’s Spiritual time and then there’s my time.
It’s all supposed to be time for God.
The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, not half your heart. Not with the leftovers. It’s not to focus on what we want to do first and see what’s left for God. It’s not to fit God into our lives but fitting our lives around God.
Josh Benner 