Re-Acting to God

“For it plainly appears God does not continue to act upon the soul unless the soul re-acts upon God.” -John Wesley

Wesley’s vision of the Christian life was such that one scholar described it as a dance. I still remember hearing this and watching some of my Holiness friends shift a little in their chairs, but what the presenter was trying to describe was the dynamic nature of the Christian life, a life in which God leads and we respond, creating something beautiful.

The quote at the top of this newsletter is from Wesley’s 1748 sermon, “The Great Privilege of those that are Born of God” based on 1 John 3:9. In the sermon, Wesley describes the soul that is alive with God, having the “divine life therein.” It’s a beautiful description of the soul set free.

This divine life “implies the continual inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit.” It’s the “continual” that is noteworthy here because what Wesley is trying to describe is a relationship. In any healthy relationship, a friend, family member, whomever, there is reciprocity. If someone says “hello” and you don’t respond, that conversation is going nowhere.

It’s similar with God, but not quite the same. It is a relationship, but it’s not a relationship of equals. In fact, God has to be the primary player.

But that doesn’t mean that we have no role to play. And this is where Wesley uses the term “re-act.” He was very intentional about that word. In fact, The Oxford English Dictionary claims that this is one of the first uses of the term with a hyphen. Wesley wanted to make a point.

Because of God’s grace, the power made possible by his presence, we are enabled to respond, to cooperate. But it also means that we have a responsibility. God’s love for us never ends, he longs to be in relationship with us, but he will not force it.

So with each measure of grace, we are called to re-act. And not just at the beginning of the Christian life, but throughout the Christian life.

The result is something amazing. Wesley describes it as “God’s breathing in to the soul, and the soul’s breathing back what it first received from God; a continual action of God upon the soul, the re-action of the soul upon God; an unceasing presence of God, the loving, pardoning God, manifested to the heart, and perceived by faith; and an unceasing return of love, praise, and prayer, offering up all the thoughts of our hearts, all the words of our tongues, all the works of our hands, all our body, soul, and spirit, to be an holy sacrifice, acceptable unto God in Christ Jesus.”

And it starts with a simple response.

Ryan N. Danker is director of the John Wesley Institute_, Washington, DC_. This is adapted from a weekly JWI newsletter that can be subscribed to here_._

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