10. Carefully guard against those raising “justified schism”
WESLEY:
"But is there no sin resembling what so many learned and pious writers have termed Schism, and against which all the members of religious communities have need to be carefully guarded?: I do not doubt but there is; and I cannot tell, whether this too may not, in a remote sense, be called Schism: I mean, "A causeless separation from a body of living Christians.: There is no absurdity in taking the word in this sense, though it be not strictly scriptural. And it is certain all the members of Christian communities should be carefully guarded against it. For how little a thing soever it may seem, and how innocent soever it may be accounted, schism, even in this sense, is both evil in itself, and productive of evil consequences.
PRAYER:
MATTHEW 25:34-40 : For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
REFLECTION:
Is there a sin in causeless separation? This is the question Wesley is asking. No matter how much it may be justified it is evil if the cause be a “little thing”. Even if one finds fault with the views and interpretation of scripture of others - be very careful that there is absolute clarity in “the cause” for disaffiliation. For we are struggling to find God's truth. God’s calls us to come with grace, not judgment, for the sake of a cause. For blessed is our community when we seek unity in the space of our yearning. I pray we all find unity in clarity of a cause- for the unity with and the Glory of our Lord.
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