If we want a picture of what a disciple of Jesus is like, we need only look at the gospels. We read of men and women who are willing to place careers, family relationships, and social status on the line if only they can follow Jesus. Together, they sit with Him on the mountainside or walk with Him through the market place, hanging on His every word, listening with a dogged determination to obey Him, no matter what the cost. Watch them obey, with Jesus as their Living Master and Teacher! Watch them fall flat on their faces again and again, and bounce back instantly because they are determined to be the "wise builders” who put Jesus’ words into practice. See them seek the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness as their primary pursuit and goal in life, no matter what the current activity happens to be. They attend weddings and banquets. They go buy food. They saddle up donkeys. They walk through fields together, pulling off heads of grain and snacking on them as they listen. They are decidedly non-religious. But they are always marked by their settled, determined desire to stick with Jesus and each other so that together they can learn to obey Him. That’s a disciple. And that’s what a Christian is, too. The above sentences really aren’t a fanciful, romantic reconstruction of discipleship. It’s the standard Jesus Himself set in place. And He’s the one who gets to decide, right?
_________________________
God bless
maryjane