Called by Jesus into discipleship

"When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die" said Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  The word disciple appears more than 264 times in the New Testament.  In secular Greek, the word meant an apprentice in some trade.  As followers of Christ, we are called by Jesus.  The initiative began with God.

Imagine that someone is chosen to represent his country for the Olympics, his whole attitude and approach to his event will be quite different from someone who has himself chosen to go as a spectator. With the first, there will be a total and sacrificial dedication to the task, partly because of the privilege of having been chosen.  There will be a strong sense of responsibility which even the most enthusiastic tourist will not have.  The Christian church suffers from many who thinks that they have "made a decision for Christ".  Such attitude breeds spiritual death.  It is only when we begin to see ourselves as chosen, called, and commissioned by Christ that we shall have any real sense of our responsibility to present our bodies to him as a holy living sacrifice.  We are not to take on the challenges of discipleship on our own, Jesus Christ promised us the Holy Spirit as a guide for us.  It is the relationship we have with Jesus Christ that enables us in the discipling relationship.