A True Disciple of Jesus in the Modern World

420 Words1 Page

A True Disciple of Jesus in the Modern world depends on how you define a "true disciple". If it means

following all Jesus' instructions to the Twelve exactly, then it is

plainly impractical for a modern Christian to be a true disciple.

For example, Jesus told his disciples in Mk. Ch.16 v.15 to "Go out to

the whole world; proclaim the Gospel to all creation." Clearly, not

every Christian can be a missionary, preaching the Good news to

everybody. Some people are not good speakers, or may be unable to go

around and tell everybody about Jesus. However, this does not mean

these Christians are incapable of being true disciples. They can show

the Christian way through their behaviour and the quality of the way

they live their life.

There are some factors which modern day disciples need that they share

with the original followers of Jesus. Faith is one of the most

important of these. The disciples had to put their trust in God and

Jesus, for example, in the Calming of the Storm. Here, Jesus saved

their boat from a storm by ordering the storm to be calm. This event

instilled great faith in the twelve. Nowadays, Christians must always

trust in god and pay him due attention.

A story from Mark's Gospel that teaches a lot about discipleship is

that of the woman in the treasury. Although she gave only a small sum

of money, it was all she had to live on, so a greater gift on the eyes

of God. M.Keene tells us in his book "Issues and Beliefs" that this

story shows that "Real Christian discipleship requires total

commitment." This commitment is possible to show in today's world,

although we are not expected to leave everything we own and live in

poverty. A modern Christian can show true commitment by going to

church regularly, donating to charities such as CAFOD and TROCAIRE and

living a good Christian life.

Jesus taught his disciples to care for the sick and needy. This is a

perfectly possible aim for modern Christians.

Open Document