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INTRODUCTION
Recently, I was asked to bring a tribute to Rose Porta at her memorial service. I told those gathered that I could never remember a time when Rose did not have a broad smile on her face. Others went on to say that even at the time of her greatest physical struggle, a few days before she went to be with the Lord, she still was able to give off that great big smile. What is it that enables a person to have such obvious joy, even when walking through the valley of the shadow of death? Rose's joy was not something that came from herself. She had an inner joy that came from knowing where the center of God's will was for her life, and she always made every effort to stay within it.
THE PRESS GANG
Long ago, when Rose first met the Lord, I'm sure she must have had an experience similar to the one that I had when I met Him. Once I began my personal relationship with the Lord, I didn't have to be forced, cajoled, manipulated, or obligated into His service. I was certainly not forcibly conscripted like some drunken sailor who wakes up the next day on a ship out at sea, having become a victim of a press gang!
I became a conscript of the Spirit into the army of God - not by force or compunction, but by a conscription of conviction! The revelation of salvation made me deeply aware that I was no longer my own. I had, in fact, been bought with a price. Someone had paid the ultimate price in order for me to receive the gift of eternal freedom. The very least I could do was to use whatever I had left of my life in gratitude and service to that One who had made it all possible.
 'FOLLOW ME'
In Mark 1:14-20, Jesus announces the coming Kingdom and then calls out some of those He knew from before time would work with Him, "...'The time has come! God's kingdom will soon be here. Turn back to God and believe the good news!' As Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were fishermen and were casting their nets into the lake. Jesus said to them, 'Come with Me! I will teach you how to bring in people instead of fish.' Right then the two brothers dropped their nets and went with him. Jesus walked on and soon saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat, mending their nets. At once Jesus asked them to come with Him. They left their father in the boat with the hired workers and went with Him." Right at the point of calling, without hesitation, the two sets of brothers dropped everything associated with their livelihood and families and 'followed' Jesus. From that point on, with the exception of one period of disillusionment, they all followed unto death.
JUST HUMAN
The fact that even the Apostles lost their way at one point should be an encouragement to us if we wander off the right path, as long as we, like them, find our way back! The reality of a risen Lord was what brought them back to a path that they never left again. Only madmen die for an illusion. Those who have seen and believe in the risen Lord have no fear of death and will commit to a life of service, looking forward to a reward that will never perish.
THINKING LIKE GREEKS, ACTING LIKE ROMANS
I trust that your religious experience is not one of obligation or conscription without conviction. Does He have to compete with every other aspect of your busy life, or is He right in the center? We, in the West, have to combat our Greco/Roman culture; we think like Greeks and act like Romans. Greek thinking breaks composites into compartments, and Romans are all about doing! That's why our lives are not holistic and our relationships are task oriented. The pure Christian world view never tolerates God in a box! He is at the center of everything, not because He wants to be - He just is! The sooner we understand this and conform our minds to the mind of Christ, the sooner the Kingdom will come!
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