Marks of a Methodist

 I'm reading a book called All the Good: A Wesleyan Way of Christmas by Laceye Warner, Amy Valdez Barker, Jung Choi, and Sangwood Kim.  This morning I read this:

For Wesley the marks of Methodist were not religious opinions or distinctive doctrinal commitments setting them apart from other Christians, Grounded in biblical texts, Wesley turned to the simple, and at the same time unimaginable, reality of God's love. This love embodied in Jesus Christ invites all to receive God's love and then to practice love through holiness of heart and life.

There are those who say that United Methodists don't believe any particular thing - that we are a denomination that says, "Believe what you want to believe."  That is not the case.

Wesley taught that there were basic doctrinal beliefs that we should share as Methodists, but they are distinctive to Methodism. I think they were the basis of his faith, and he was not shy about preaching about them - demanding faith in them.

But what sets us apart? I think there are a few things, but this quote reminds me of one of them - one that produces the nature of our faith together.  We believe that we are loved by God. That love should move us to action, and that action should be acts of holiness of heart and holiness of service. We work to love God in return and to open ourselves to God's love, and we work to share that love with others. It is a faith of piety and social holiness.