"The Demands Jesus makes of his disciples are far too difficult for modern day Christians"

           Modern day Christians would also have another problem, we would have to die for God.  Jesus says ‘If anyone wants to come with me, he must forget self carry his cross and follow me’.  This would be very difficult because we would have leave so much behind so many loved ones.  It is hard enough for us, but one must think about how the family will feel once they have died, surely it is not worth suffering for yourself and for your family?  It is also extremely hard to put yourself last ‘forget self’.  It is natural to put yourself in front of everyone else, to look after and to make sure that you get a good life.  There have been a few exceptions in WW1, Maxmillion Kolbe died for a fellow citizen because that person had a wife and kids.  Not only did he die for someone but he put himself last.  Another brave man, who died for God and Jesus, was Oscar Romeo he was killed in 1980 while preaching about social justice.

                But on the positive side there are many things a Christian can do to be a disciple.  We can be called ‘a vocation’ just like the nuns and priests have.  Vocation is mainly used in the context of a person who feels he has been called to do a job.  ‘As Jesus walked along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw two fisherman, Simon and his brother Andrew catching fish with a net.  Jesus said to them ‘Come with me and I will teach you to catch men’.  At once they left their nets and went with him’ .  An example of this are priests and nuns, they feel they have been called to follow god.  Anyone could do this if they had the willpower and the belief, but it takes up a lot of time and effort.  Christians can also be called to other types of life like marriage or work (teaching or nursing) this would be seen as a part of discipleship.

        Christians can also follow the example of Jesus and his disciples by preaching, spreading the word of God.  Christians in their everyday lives can have a lot of faith and forgive people, this is exactly what a good disciple does, follow Jesus.   We can also be a good disciple by healing people and caring for them.  ‘And rubbed olive oil on many sick people and healed them’.  Some examples of this are helping the needy by yourself or through charities like CAFOD and Christian Aid.  Or if you were not that financially sound you could raise public awareness in communities like a church or a school.

        In my opinion everyone can do a little bit to become a disciple.  For example everyone can raise public awareness about the tragedies that are happening in the third world countries, and most people can donate some money to charities such as CAFOD.  But I feel it is impossible for a modern Christian to be a true disciple, because we have far too many responsibilities. I couldn’t give up all that time an effort to be a disciple and no way could I leave my family and home behind.  I have huge respect toward anyone who has accomplished this magnificent feat.  We all can keep the 10 commandments we can still be close to god via such things as prayer and going to church, reading the bible will also be away of communicating with god.  Even though a lot of people look on those that preach on the streets as a little odd.  We can still pass on the gospel message, by leading a good life, following the basic commandments and showing the way forward to others.  You don’t need to be as dedicated as Peter to be a disciple, he was just a very good one