The Bible exhorts us to become disciples of Jesus.
Jesus himself told Matthew: « FOLLOW ME. »(Matthew 9:9)
But how can we follow Jesus today?
To be a disciple of Christ, you need two things:
First, we must know him, know his virtues and his conduct.
Second, we must strive to conform our actions, our conduct and our life to his own.
Here are some four of his virtues that we must try to imitate to be his disciples:
The first virtue of the Savior is HUMILITY.
Jesus Christ recognized the will of God and let it prevail in the plan of salvation for humanity. He taught humility and humbled himself to glorify his Father.
Let us live humbly because not only does humility bring peace, but it also attracts God’s favor to us: « Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, « God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. » »(1 Peter 5:5)
The second virtue of the Savior is COURAGE.
At the age of twelve, Jesus demonstrated his courage by approaching the teachers of the law in the Temple of God, sitting among them, « listening to them and asking them questions »(Luke 2:46)
Let us be as courageous as Jesus, « God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. »(2 Timothy 1:7)
Let us then have the courage to do what is right, even if it is unpopular, the courage to defend our faith and act with faith, the courage to repent daily, the courage to accept God’s will and obey His commandments, the courage to live righteously and do what is expected of us in our various responsibilities and situations.
The third virtue of the Savior is
FORGIVENESS.
During His earthly ministry, the Savior prevented the stoning of a woman caught in adultery. He said to him: « Go and sin no more »(John 8:11).
The gift of forgiveness that the Savior gives us is the ability to forgive people who have harmed us even though they may not accept responsibility for their mistreatment of us.
Forgiveness is required of us to be true disciples of Jesus Christ.
The fourth virtue of the Savior is THE SACRIFICE.
Sacrifice is part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. For us, the Savior made the supreme sacrifice of His life that we might be redeemed.
In reality, sacrifice is the demonstration of pure love. The degree of our love for the Lord, for the Gospel and for our fellow human beings can be measured by what we are willing to sacrifice for them.
We can sacrifice our time to carry out pastoral service, serve others, do good, etc.
We can also give of our financial means to the church to contribute to the building of the kingdom of God on earth.
PRAYER:
Lord our God, help us to become more and more humble, more courageous, able to forgive and sacrifice more for your kingdom.
It is in the precious name of your son Jesus Christ that we pray, Amen.
THE LION OF JUDAH MINISTRY IN THE WORLD©
thelionofjudahmission@gmail.com
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KIGALI – RWANDA