The
rise of Christianity shows how a small beginning through discipleship could
bring a big impact to the world, especially throughout the era of Christendom.
The era of Christendom starts after the ascension of Christ to heaven started
by the apostles of Jesus. The apostles live their live according to their
calling of spreading the Gospel; moreover, they make many disciples through
their journey so that the spreading of the Gospel may continue to the next
generation. Despite of the unsupportive condition, the spreading of the Gospel
and Christianity was unstoppable, especially during the Roman Era; the more
Christians are persecuted, the stronger they grow. The apostleship and
discipleship flourished even more, causing greater movements in revival in
churches which eventually led to the period of Constantine where Christianity
was legalized throughout the Roman Empire. Later, the Roman Empire was overcome
by Christianity.
Gratefully in
the modern days today, we as Christians don’t have to experience pressure that
the Christians during the Roman Period experienced; however, the Christianity
today doesn’t have that much growth as it was back then during the Christendom
era; particularly in the Western world, the flame of Christianity is slowly
diminishing. One of the factors that may lead to this diminishing flame is the
modern convenience. With the advancement of innovations and technologies, we
have lived in such a world of convenience and allowed ourselves to be exposed
to outer influences, which could be negative. One of the ways we are influenced
negatively by the modern era is through the music.
Lady Gaga, who
is one of the famous artists in the world today, is indirectly trying to
instill many negative concepts to her fans around the world through her songs;
moreover, she is also trying to change the perspective of many people,
including the perspective to the religion, especially the Christian religion.
Many believed she was the Illuminati or Satan’s puppet. With her talent and
popularity, she has successfully changed many people’s perspective, even
Christian perspectives. Viewing her YouTube channel, I was surprised to see an
outstanding comment about her that says “If she's going to hell, then I'm
coming with her, so are 13,000,000 other Little Monsters.” The fans of Lady
Gaga become obsessed with her and will become vulnerable to Satan at any
moment.
The great
commission of Christ to his disciple was to go and make disciples. The lack of
discipleship in the modern days has caused the flame of Christianity to
diminish even faster. Discipleship has become one of the most effective ways in
the spread of Christianity during the early church, and it will still be
applicable in nowadays. Since last year when there is mentoring session at
school, I realize that it is great to have someone as a mentor to be a guide in
my life as a Christian; since then, I am encouraged to join the Rebirth small
groups that my faith as a Christian can always be strengthened. Through this
discipleship, I could share my life struggle, get encouraged, and grow stronger
spiritually. It is also my desire to disciple someone so that I can also help
others to grow spiritually as well maintaining the flame of Christianity; it
has to start with me.
At most time,
people were unable to come to small groups or mentoring sessions to strengthen
their faith and help their spiritual growth due to the limitation in time and
condition, but discipleship can also be in the form of writing; writing can
also be an indirect way of discipleship. People can also grow spiritually
through reading books, thesis, journals, and someone else’s writing. Though the
author may have lived in the past, people can still be greatly blessed and
encouraged by them. Developing my writing skills will train me to disciple
others both directly and indirectly; hence I should put more effort in writing
my journals and sharing to others what I learned, so that I can become a
blessing to others. This way, I could leave a legacy in the years to come;
though the next generations my not know me personally, or they may only know me
by name, they could still have their lives touched and even changed through my
writings. Through any form of discipleship, the Christian flame will not diminish,
but grow even stronger.
As a
conclusion, I can see the irony of the Christianity in modern era in compared
with the one in Christendom. People nowadays, especially the youths, tend to
make excuses not to build a strong spirituality, and choose to enjoy the modern
conveniences instead. Even though it is not a sin to enjoy the modern
technology, trend, and popular culture, I have come to learn that in order to
maintain the flame of Christianity, I need to be able to prioritize spiritual
growth. With my strong spirituality, I would not be easily influenced by the
negative influence of popular media. I should make a lasting impact for myself
and for the next generation, and keeping the flame through discipleship
especially through writing.