To a young disciple of the Lord (excerpt from letter)

"Then Jesus came and spake unto them, saying : All authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go and make disciples all nations, baptizing them for the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you every day, until the end of the age." Matthew 28: 16-20

Guillaume, since you are converted, you are ipso facto a disciple of Jesus Christ, a member of his body. You are a new creation. Your way of thinking, your attitude and the motives of your actions have changed. You no longer have the same aspirations and goals that drive men who do not know Jesus. Let's be clear : you're different. And it will be seen !

Since you have received Jesus, you belong by right to a new family, a great and beautiful family, that of God : "To all who received it, he gave them the right to be children of God" (John 1.12). And it is also going to be seen : in a happy family nobody gets bored, and everyone has a "family air".

This new identity of disciple, child of God, arouses the opposition of the world who loves what resembles him, but rejects and despises what is different. Now you are different !

Do not be ashamed to be one of the Lord's disciples. In Antioch, the disciples of Jesus Christ received for the first time the name "Christians", perhaps a nickname or simply a label to classify this new group. In any case, they were called by that name because the people had noticed that they were following Christ. By their testimony of fidelity, the first Christians gave their nickname an honorable meaning. They have even made it a title of glory, for it contains the name of Christ.

This privilege entails a double responsibility :

- To be a disciple is not only to follow the Lord, but to learn to know Him through reading and studying the Bible, alone and with other believers.

- To be a disciple is also to make disciples. The formula is well known : "The best way to learn the Bible is to teach it". This is the best method of spreading the Word of God. It has worked for 2,000 years, it is still effective today.

Source (To pleasing the Lord)