When Jesus tells the disciples about the cost of discipleship he means that they should be prepared to put God and his commandments first before anything else, and they must be prepared to suffer for their beliefs. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, they must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me,” he means that by denying oneself they must put themselves last in everything, have no care about their own life, and have no desire for rights or privileges, except that of belonging to God. When Jesus said to take up the cross, we can assume that because we all have a cross to bear, we should take up our vocation, and that means for us to follow Jesus regardless of the sacrifices we have to make. When we are told we should follow him, it means that we should travel down the same road as Jesus and suffer the many trials of being a disciple.
We are told about the rewards of discipleship and the strange reward they receive for their suffering. “I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or their family 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”. Jesus says this to the disciples after he tells them the story of the Rich Young Man.
Part B: Explain how this teaching about discipleship might effect the life of a Christian today.
In the past Jesus called the disciples directly but now in the present he is not physically near us, so he cannot call us personally. Instead he calls us through our parents, teachers, priests and other people within our lives. Anyone who hears about Jesus is being called, if the person listens they can get baptised to show that they accepted the call. Your parents decided if you where to get baptised or not when you were born. It is your choice though if you choose to live as a disciple later on in life. Everyone is welcome to be a disciple; all they need to do is hear God’s word and respond by getting baptised as a sign of accepting the word and then live like a Christian.
But how do you live as a Christian in our modern day society?
Many Christians would find it hard to follow all of Jesus´ teachings and become a ‘true disciple´. They may find it difficult to show all the qualities of a disciple, such as giving up all they have because they may have family responsibilities and it would be negligent to leave them or take things away from them. Also society has changed and money is needed, some people cannot rely on charity alone as people are more materialistic and so unwilling to part with everything, they may not have enough faith though they still wish to go out and preach or heal.
Yet we see from people such as nuns, monks, and priests that there are many people who give up all they have as the first disciples did. There are those who act as missionaries who preach and spread the word of God, and who care for the sick showing the qualities of a true disciple. These people give away all they have to depend on God knowing he will help them.
Then there are normal people who live everyday lives yet their heroism shows they are true disciples as they may risk their lives to save others. There are also other ways to be a disciple instead of going out and preaching as a vicar or missionary. If a person leads a good and Christian life showing kindness and generosity to others they are preaching by example and what they do reflects on their children and others around them. I think it is possible to be a true disciple if one does as much as they can to help others and be a good Christian, even if it is only a small gesture it will still result in rewards and an entry into the Kingdom of God.
Part C: “Children cannot be disciples so they cannot be Christians either.”
Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer, showing you’ve considered more than one point of view.
Babies born into Christian families are usually baptised within one to two months of being born. Since they are baptised and will be growing up within a Christian family, this encourages their faith at an early age. Some Christians would say that children at such a young age should not be baptised because they can’t make the decision – the children should be adults before they can be baptised because by then they can decide for themselves. Adults may be too busy to get baptised and see it as unnecessary. God helped bring these children into the world, they should repay him by becoming a member of his family, in other words, get baptised.
There is no evidence in the bible that suggests that children were refused baptism within the early church. Many times Jesus makes references concerning children and on many occasions takes children into his arms, blesses them and heals them. “’Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom like a little child will not enter it.’ And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them”. This shows that the children are as important as adults because Jesus tells his disciples this after they rebuke people for bringing children to Jesus to be blessed.
Some Christians would say that only adults could be disciples because of the commitment required – all the hard work and effort. They argue that children aren’t old enough to put in any effort because it would be too demanding for them.
Many adults would call themselves disciples, in other words, they follow Jesus but they don’t practise their faith. If a child were to try his or her best at practising their faith, they would be a disciple. Jesus calls on everyone to be a disciple – women, men and children. Even though his twelve disciples were men doesn’t mean that women and children can’t be. He chose men because of the time period they lived in.
To finish, I would say that children could be disciples, as long as they try their best to practise the faith. That’s all God and Jesus ask of them.
