By Ryan Danker, Juicy Ecumenism.
“But it is generally his pleasure to work by his creatures: to help man by man. He honours men to be, in this sense, ‘workers together with him’. By this means the reward is ours, while the glory redounds to him.” -John Wesley
Even though he never had any children of his own, John Wesley took a particular interest in the spiritual nurture of children, their education, and their general welfare. His own upbringing is well-known as both his father and mother instilled in the Wesley children a love for the faith within a particularly ordered household. The children were taught the alphabet on their fifth birthday, and both the boys and the girls were taught to read. This was unique at the time.
Many years later, Wesley set up the Kingswood School with a particular focus on the children of Methodist preachers. The school is still in existence today.
In 1783, Wesley wrote a sermon, “On the Education of Children.” The sermon is one of Wesley’s most practical pieces, even if his approach to childrearing would seem strict today. What he wanted to convey was not strictness, however, but the steps necessary to inculcate a love of God, a love of others, and a love of creation in the hearts and minds of children.
One of the striking claims that he makes involves each of us participating in the work of God in the world. He writes, “But it is generally [God’s] pleasure to work by his creatures: to help man by man. He honours men to be, in this sense, ‘workers together with him’. By this means the reward is ours, while the glory redounds to him.”
But in order to be open to this co-operative work, to be able to participate in it, Wesley doesn’t shy away from naming the “spiritual diseases” that plague us, and thus hinder us from doing so. And in this case, hinder us from the very moment of our birth.