Being a Disciple of Christ

What does it mean to be a disciple of Christ? When I think of Christ's disciples the main characters of the New Testament always come to mind. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Peter are all great examples of a disciple, but a better example in my opinion is us. The Lord called those men to be his disciples centuries ago, but he never stopped calling. We are also called to be his disciples and not only just disciples, but BETTER disciples, because we have the written accounts of the gospel to guide us and help us avoid the mistakes previous disciples made. That's not to say we aren't going to go without mistakes, but we are called to do the best we can.

So how do we go about doing this?

As called disciples of Christ there are many responsibilities we have to bear as we go along our journey through mortal life. There are many things that we must and must not do if we are to be called disciples. These are a few I just came up with on my own.
Things We Should Do
1.  Follow the commandments. (The rules are there for a reason, don't question, just do.)
2. Have unconditional faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. (Faith is everything)
3. Love the Lord's people and serve them to the best of our abilities. (If you can do something for someone. DO IT.)

Things We Shouldn't Do
1. Question our worth. (How can we expect to be good disciples if we don't believe in ourselves)
2. Blame the Lord or others for our problems and mistakes.  (As disciples we need to take responsibility for our actions.
3. Listen to Satan. (Worst decision you can make. He will consistently bring you down and move you as far away from the path as possible.)

These are just a few of the things we can do and not do when trying to be good disciples of Christ. There are a lot more and I struggle with just these 6. Mainly what the Lord is asking is that we try. If we slip and fall he'll help us back up, but he needs us to be trying and making an effort, or we will never succeed. Being a disciple is the work we're here to do. When we do the things we need to be doing to be those good disciples we are on the path home and we are in the good graces of God.

Becoming as a Child

As future inheritors of God's kingdom there are some specific qualities we need to possess. One of the ones that is emphasized quite a bit throughout the scriptures is "becoming as a little child." But what does this mean. Most of us aren't little children anymore and a great majority of the people who live on earth do not die before the age of 12. Does this mean we won't get into heaven? 

No it doesn't.

The scriptures aren't talking about us being children in the eyes of man, but being children in the eyes of the Lord. 

So what does this entail? Let's look at some qualities that children on earth possess. 

1. Always questioning and curious about the world around them.
2. Willing to accept direction and not rebel against established rules.
3. Open minded to new ideas and concepts.
4. Willing and excited to learn and grow mentally, physically, and spiritually.
5. Flexible and easy to instruct and actively seeking guidance.

In D&C 78:17-18 is says, 

"17 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you; 18 And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours." 

As spirits we are children. We have no clue what Heavenly Father has in store for us. Our minds can't even comprehend all of the wonderful things he has planned and all of the knowledge he can share with us. We are limited by our mortal bodies and so we are always as little children no matter what age we are, because no one can truly know all the things that God does. 

Now what do we do with that information? 

We ACT like children. 

No one likes a kid who thinks they know everything and tries to do whatever they want to do despite the counsel of parents/guardians/teachers/etc. They think they know what is best for them, but we know what will happen if they start climbing on top of a table or playing with matches or stick something electronic in the microwave. The same goes for God. He knows better and yet we continue to object and question and do what we want to do anyways, despite his counsel. The best thing we can do to help gain our inheritance and feel good standing at the pearly gates is to accept the fact that we know very little, and relinquish our pride and allow Heavenly Father to direct us in the way that he knows is the best for us. 

Walking on Water

One of the most pinnacle moments of the Bible is when Jesus is walking on the water to his disciples. The apostles are frightened because they think that the Jesus Christ is a spirit. Christ speaks to them and lets them know not to be afraid because it is only him, but Peter tests him, by saying that if it's truly the Lord he should call out to him and allow him to walk on water to meet him in the ocean. The Savior agrees and Peter starts walking on the water towards him. Peter's faith her is pretty limited in the first place, but on top of the winds and the crazy waves he starts to doubt and get scared and begins to sink. Christ reaches out his hand and saves him and admonishes him to have  faith in him next time so that he doesn't sink. 
There is a lot that we can learn from Peter's experience with Christ. None of us are perfect beings and every day our faith falters. When things get scary out in the world that we live in many times our first response is to protect ourselves. I know that I struggle more than most in letting the Lord handle my problems. I, like Peter, can only see what's going on around me and get scared before I can trust and like Peter, I sink only to eventually be saved by Jesus Christ over and over again. This is something we all struggle with at one time or another. There will always be a storm that tries to scare us into sinking, but if we have faith, we can walk on water.