The call to discipleship is unconditioned. As it was for the 12 apostles, it must be the centre focus of our lives. Everything else comes after discipleship. The summoning to discipleship can not be for a social reason as the rich young man would find out. He desperately sought after eternal life but when Jesus challenged him to give all his wealth to the poor he couldn't do it. Discipleship is about putting ourselves last and others first. The rich young man was incapable of such ability. Jesus said, 'it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.'
The call of discipleship requires us to be the 'light of the earth' and the ‘sewers of the seed.' We should go tell the Word of God to people throughout discipleship. This is what the original twelve Apostles had to do at the requests of Jesus. The costs and consequences of discipleship are very strong. Jesus said, 'Take up your cross and follow me.'
He required the disciples to drop everything, friends, land, family, wealth, possessions and follow him on a journey of life. If it was necessary to die for our faith then it would be expected of us, just as it was expected of the first twelve. Jesus wanted his disciples to live and die for what they believed in otherwise it would be as strong a commitment. If they weren’t involved to the full 100% they were capable of then as far as Jesus was concerned, they weren't involved at all. He sought for the disciples to become as open and trusting as children were. A child is too naive to think of consequences of their actions and they will carry out whatever is asked of them without any hesitation. Building the Kingdom wasn't an easy task in the beginning and still to this day it remains equally as hard. Jesus said that, ‘anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.'
Discipleship doesn't go unrewarded. When addressing the rich young man, Jesus revealed that, 'no one who has left home or brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father, or
children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this
present age, and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last and last will be first.' All of the twelve disciples had made a sacrifice like Jesus had described so all of them would be rewarded as Jesus had also said.
Jesus provides us with the perfect example of discipleship. He epitomizes everything God wants us to be as disciples. He places himself last of all. He always made time for people even when it was inconvenient for him. Jesus did many things for other people that most people today wouldn't contemplate attempting.
Discipleship Aoii
The teaching on discipleship is that to be a true Christian disciple we must follow the way and teaching of Jesus Christ. Because there are many challenges in today’s modern world it is extremely difficult to be a true Christian disciple and live our lives based on the way Jesus lived his. This is predominantly because the world today has become very materialistic, however it is still achievable in my opinion to become a true disciple as Jesus asked of us with a concoction of great commitment and effort.
The call to and the cost of discipleship has not fundamentally changed from the time of Jesus. When recruiting his first disciples Jesus said, ‘Take up your cross and follow me.’ This is the same message on how we should live. We must listen to what is said in mass. Mass delivers the message on how we should live. We must listen to what it said in mass and then try to rein act it out in our lives. By doing this we obtain redemption from God which helps us to be a true Christian today.
The burden of the Gospel and the need for salvation remain unchanged. The Gospel still has the same message as in the beginning. This shows that the requirements, expenses and call to being a true Christian disciple have remained identical. The soul difference is the modern world has become immensely materialistic whereas in Jesus’ time it was not. The people today will have many more possessions than the people in Jesus’ time did. This intensifies the task of leaving all our possessions and living the way Jesus wanted his apostles to. However discipleship is not simply about giving up everything we possess and living a life the way Jesus sought after us to.
Discipleship takes different forms of expression and practice. To be a true Christian, we aren’t required to join the priesthood as many people may believe. In today’s modern world there are numerous amounts of ways to be a true disciple, for example taking an active role in charity work, helping the community out or putting other people’s interests ahead of our own. Some people however do follow the example set by Jesus and the apostles and join the priesthood. However not everyone can do this so there must be an alternative way of being a true Christian. Most people would practice their discipleship in the home, workplace, the local community and the school etc. Nonetheless no matter what we do as Christians we are al engaged in building the Kingdom of God.
In conclusion discipleship is the same as it was in Jesus’ time except some individuals conditions may change. Many people quarrel that Jesus didn’t demand that we must follow him physically, for example, Legion. Jesus told Legion, ‘Go home to your family and tell them how much the lord has done for you.’ In my opinion we can all be true Christians with little or no effect on our lives. If we abide by the rules and attitudes that Jesus has left us with, then it is irrelevant whether we join a religious cult which spreads God’s word or become a priest. If we follow the most important commandment, ‘Love God and love your neighbour as yourself,’ then we will be living the Christian life God wished us to live.
Discipleship AOiii
”Children can’t be disciples so they can’t be Christians either.”
I disagree with this statement as I do not believe there is an age limit to being a Christian. However I can also see why people would say why people may think this way, as at such a young age a young child can not fully comprehend what being a Christian involves.
The first point which refutes this statement quite emphatically is directly from Jesus himself. In Marks Gospel Jesus tells us clearly that anyone who doesn’t receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it. ‘The kingdom God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ Mark (10:14-16). This shows that children are the model for the Christian disciples, and therefore can be Christians despite their age. A valid argument to oppose this viewpoint may be that Jesus was merely saying that a child is too young to have sinned so they are completely free of sin. I understand this point but again that refutes the original sin theory so I would disagree.
When a child is baptised it is installed as a fresh member of God’s family and from this point on its voyage through life as a disciple as begun. I concur with this because at baptism the child is cleansed of original sin, which from a Christian perspective we are all born with. Many people may also say that the child is too young to be a proper Christian but I conflict with this opinion because if the father and mother raise the child the appropriate Christian way, then it will have already began it course through life as a Christian.
Many people argue that given the age and knowledge of discipleship the child’s Christian life is limited, nonetheless within these boundaries they can begin to exercise discipleship. If the child is raised by its parents to be a Christian and live the way Jesus did, then the voyage of discipleship is already ongoing. Jesus used children as the perfect example of discipleship so I diverge with the declaration a number of people make about age being a factor.
Being a Christian is a lifelong journey which we embark on after baptism. There is no stage when one person can say that they are a complete Christian. As a Christian we are persistently learning and developing our Christianity. Due to this I would state that there is no age obstruction involving any aspect of Christianity. So anybody including a new born child can be a Christian.
As a final point I can see why many people would say children can’t be disciples or Christians but I still believe that a child can be a Christian disciple if raised properly.
Daniel McKiernan 12.G
