By: Pastor Shallimar Facunla and Pastor Ronah Santos Valerio
Discipleship: Living for Christ in the Daily Grind by J. Heinrich Arnold.
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Discipleship is the very essence of Christianity. It is in community that we are tested and purified. In our own community we learn what forgiveness and healing is all about.
In his book, Heinrich himself felt the call to follow Christ. He is a spiritual guide who cared deeply for the inner and outer well being of the communities that entrusted to him. True discipleship requires commitment. Discipleship addresses every aspect of our spiritual life, personal and communal. Discipleship do not only start by meeting Christ personally instead confronted by the image of Jesus Christ by His message of repentance and love. Only then it is possible to live a Christian faith. Discipleship is about listening to a friend, stranger, to critics, and most od all listening to the voice of God.
The Disciple Inner life should be seen on how Christ taught us. There must be a complete change in us and this change should begin in our inner being. If our Christianity is only a religion for Sunday worship, it will remain shallow and empty. Discipleship demand that we drop everything including everything we count as positive in ourselves. Like Paul he is willing to lay aside the Jewish law, if we consider ourselves as disciples we must likewise give up our good self-image, our righteousness and our kindness and count it all as nothing for the sake of Jesus Christ.
In discipleship, the radicalism of Jesus Christ must challenge everyone of us. Jesus does not want to win members of people but a dedicated hearts. Jesus seeks people who want to give themselves unreservedly to God and to other brothers, without seeking anything for themselves. In discipleship each soul must be personally confronted by Jesus himself. True conversion is the willingness to suffer with Christ, the suffering one. True conversion is not possible without this.
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