A CRUSHED ROSE

Continuing with yesterday's devotion--the other thing I saw when Simon of Cryrene was used to help carry Jesus' cross is that God used just an ordinary guy in the crowd.  "They compelled him to carry the cross."  In other words, the soldiers "forced" him to do this.  God will even work through the enemy to help His plan.  Look at Genesis 50:20.  Scripture is telling us that "what man means for evil, God will use for good."

No doubt Simon was afraid (for himself).  He probably would have preferred just to have been an "onlooker" in the crowd, but the soldiers randomly picked him.  (He hadn't even entered the lottery...and he was the winner!  God slipped the winning ticket in his pocket!)

God had His eye on Simon....God moved on the soldiers to see him and call him out for active duty!  He was DRAFTED!

I often wonder how that event impacted/changed Simon's life.  Wow!  God used such a frightened, ordinary man to help His Son carry the cross.  Isn't that amazing?

What would you have felt?  What would you have done, if you had been "called out" to walk along side Jesus?  Being that close to Jesus--what an awesome experience!

Most of us prefer to set elbow-to-elbow with Him at the banquet table, but we run away quickly when we're called out to serve Him when things get tough!  The Christian life is not a "bed of rose petals"...a soft and cushy life!  Christians need to realize that roses also have thorns....and they can get hurt and feel pain.  You'll need to pick the thorny roses sometimes if you want to rest in a cushy bed of rose petals!

Roses have a sweet aroma--especially after they have been cut, torn, and crushed.  Know this--"A crushed rose smells sweeter!"