Meeting Jesus and Following Himنمونہ

FOLLOWING JESUS IS TO ENGAGE IN THE LIFE OF A DISCIPLE When we talk about a disciple, by necessity it implies a relation and the fact of having a model to whom we can identify and want to emulate. It’s a need that is natural and normal in every human being : you only have to look at children and young people who need an identity and a role model. But we mustn’t believe that, just because we have become an adult, this need is no longer there. We were created by God, in His image and His resemblance (cf. Genesis 1 :26), however because of the Fall something of that image was broken and that is why within humans there is this desire to have some kind of identity, to be a disciple, in order to rediscover the fullness of His image…It is only through Jesus Christ that we can rediscover this, He is the One who we need to have as a role model. To be a disciple is not only to attach oneself to the person of their Master, but it is also to be influenced by His teaching, to walk in His footsteps by offering Him an exclusive faithfulness and to know how to consider everything as a loss (cf. Philippians 3 :8) in the aim of sharing the destiny of one’s Lord, even as far as to give up one’s life if necessary. So it is a total identity to one’s master in order to become an extension of His teaching and His life. It is therefore vital to know who we want to be disciples of. Because in reality, if this plan is called “a disciple walking forwards, for a victorious life”, it is because I am convinced that God isn’t interested in Christians. Jesus didn’t come to make “Christians“ , that is to say people who are touched by the message of the Gospel and who receive the assurance of salvation and eternal life, but who go no further. What Jesus is looking for is disciples – men and women, young and old – who, when they have been saved, allow themselves to be transformed by the power of God’s Word to live it, obey Him in a radical way and in turn make more disciples for Christ. It is the mission statement that Jesus left us in Matthew 28 :19 “Go and make disciples of all nations…” which Paul says in a different way when he exhorts his readers to be his imitators (cf 1 Corinthians 4 :16, 11 :1, and Philippians 3 :17). We are called to become those people who transform our world through the love of Christ, to have a reputation of being those who shake up the world (cf Acts 17 :6). At the heart of our world there is a real expectation that we live, speak and act like disciples (cf Romans 8 :19). Maybe you are saved, but you realise that you aren’t living your life by really following Jesus in an unconditional manner ? I would like to encourage you to take a decision – just like Peter said to a Jesus one day : “ I am ready to go to prison with you and to die” – to follow Jesus unconditionally. Maybe you have made this decision in the past, but you have fallen away for different reasons, and you are no longer really following Jesus. You are saved, but you aren’t living as a disciple. It’s not a problem. Jesus is there to forgive you, to pick you up and restore you. On the other hand, it would be a problem to stay where you are…Follow Jesus because He has great things planned for you ! And we will see in the next chapter how to live out this forgiveness. Stop a moment to pray and meditate on this. Are you a Christian or a disciple ? Take a moment before God to position yourself based upon that. REFLECTIONS : Following Jesus is to engage in the life of a disciple Read Luke 9 :23-26 and 57-62 and take a moment to answer the following questions : ➤ For you, what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus ? ➤ Who is called to become a disciple of Christ and how do you become one ? MY DECISION : What I have understood for my own personal life : What I am deciding to do in my life based upon what I have just learnt : What you decide to do today will determine who and what you will be tomorrow ! Adapted from "un disciple en marche" copyright 2018 by Luc Favre, published by Vie Victorieuse.  All rights reserved. For more information [ ]( www.vievictorieuse.org) [ www.vievictorieuse.org ](https://vievictorieuse.org/product/un-disciple-en-marche/)