Seguir a Jesus
Seguir a Jesus é o convite mais transformador da Bíblia. Jesus chamou pescadores, cobradores de impostos e pessoas comuns para deixar tudo e segui-lo. Esse chamado continua vivo hoje.
O chamado de Jesus
Jesus disse: 'Segue-me'. Esse convite simples e poderoso mudou a vida de pescadores, publicanos e pessoas comuns ao longo da história.
19 and he says to them, Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.20 And they, having left their trawl-nets, immediately followed him.
9 And Jesus, passing on thence, saw a man sitting at the tax-office, called Matthew, and says to him, Follow me. And he rose up and followed him.
43 On the morrow he would go forth into Galilee, and Jesus finds Philip, and says to him, Follow me.
57 And it came to pass as they went in the way, one said to him, I will follow thee wheresoever thou goest, Lord.58 And Jesus said to him, The foxes have holes and the birds of the heaven roosting-places, but the Son of man has not where he may lay his head.59 And he said to another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, allow me to go first and bury my father.60 But Jesus said to him, Suffer the dead to bury their own dead, but do *thou* go and announce the kingdom of God.61 And another also said, I will follow thee, Lord, but first allow me to bid adieu to those at my house.62 But Jesus said to him, No one having laid his hand on {the} plough and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.
O custo do discipulado
Seguir a Jesus exige renúncia. É preciso tomar a cruz diariamente, deixar tudo para trás e amar a Cristo acima de qualquer outro vínculo.
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, If any one desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
26 If any man come to me, and shall not hate his own father and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, yea, and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple;27 and whoever does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
28 Peter began to say to him, Behold, *we* have left all things and have followed thee.29 Jesus answering said, Verily I say to you, There is no one who has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, {or wife}, or children, or lands, for my sake and for the sake of the gospel,30 that shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time: houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions, and in the coming age life eternal.31 But many first shall be last, and the last first.
Caminhar com Cristo
Quem segue a Jesus não anda em trevas, mas tem a luz da vida. Ele nos convida a crescer nele e a servir como Ele serviu.
12 Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world; he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
26 If any one serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there also shall be *my* servant. {And} if any one serve me, him shall the Father honour.
15 but, holding the truth in love, we may grow up to him in all things, who is the head, the Christ:
4 Mine ordinances shall ye do and my statutes shall ye observe to walk therein: I am Jehovah your God.