amy- The Forerunner: John Wycliffe

I really loved learning about the bold nature of John Wycliffe. It is funny, because I feel as though not many would remember him as a large part of the Protestant Reformation. Reading more about him fascinated me. Especially within the church, it makes me happy to see that there were some people who could not bear to see the church defame the name of Christ. John Wycliffe did this. I think I also really like the role that he took in the Reformation. It was as if his writings were sitting underground like a landmine, just waiting for the right person to discover the truth they contained. Where did Jan Hus and Martin Luther get a lot of their outlines and ideas? They received it directly from the Bull that Wycliffe sent directly to the Pope. Another humorous aspect to Wycliffe’s life is the fact that the church exhumed his bones so that they could burn another heretic. As a Christian, seeing how zealously Wycliffe wanted to get the Bible into the hands of the people inspires me to treasure my own Bible more. I was really fascinated with the attitude of Wycliffe. He was so concerned with what the Bible truly meant and was not working any angle other than truth. I wish to have that sort of character: the sort of character that is concerned with the truth, but the truth with love. Wycliffe wanted each individual to read what the Bible really said and work out his or her own faith. He no longer wanted people to blindly follow the manipulated “Biblical teachings” that the church leaders instated. When I read what he had to say about the indulgences and the greed of the church, I could see his righteous anger burning for the citizens who were being swindled by those who were supposedly doing “God’s work.” Once again, it is merely inspiring.