The Imitation of Christ

I've been re-reading some books from the "holy living tradition" that were very influential for John Wesley during his early adulthood. They're good sources for understanding how Wesley was influenced in his thinking about holiness of heart & life. But the real joy in reading them is that they are all spiritual classics that offer great insight into the way of holiness for Christians today.

One of the best is the meditation of Thomas a Kempis called, The Imitation of Christ. (That's him in the picture, by the way.) Kempis was a 15th-century Dutch monk who was a member of the Brothers of the Common Life. His masterpiece, The Imitation of Christ, has inspired countless people in their devotional lives since he penned it in the early 1400s.

John Wesley talks about its influence on him in the opening paragraphs of A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, where he writes, "In the year 1726, I met with Kempis's 'Christian's Pattern.' The nature and extent of inward religion, the religion of the heart, now appeared to me in a stronger light than ever it had done before ... I saw, that 'simplicity of intention, and purity of affection,' one design in all we speak or do, and one desire ruling all our tempers, are indeed 'the wings of the soul,' without which she can never ascend to the mount of God."

I would encourage you to pick up a copy of The Imitation of Christ, which is available in a number of different versions. (The Thomas Nelson edition is good for devotional reading; it's not currently in print but is available for next to nothing from used booksellers). Keep in mind that it should be read slowly and savored. It's best read meditatively along with your morning Scripture reading, which allows you to reflect on its words throughout your daily tasks.

I'll also share a few passages from it over the next few weeks. Here's one from the opening section:

"The teaching of Christ is more excellent than all the advice of the saints, and he who has His spirit will find in it a hidden manna. Now, there are many who hear the Gospel often but care little for it because they have not the spirit of Christ. Yet whoever wishes to understand fully the words of Christ must try to pattern his whole life on that of Christ" (I.1).

Words of wisdom.

And words by which to focus our spiritual lives.