I don’t know what they call the indoctrination period when a person goes into the Army or Marines, but in the Navy, they call it “Boot Camp.”

At any rate, each person literally enters a new world. I was Navy, so I’ll talk for them. You get up early…have a hearty meal…then learn to mark, salute, paddle a lifeboat, see movies of related subjects, and if you’re doing Boot at San Diego, you’re warned NOT to go down to Tijuana, Mexico, when you finally get liberty. And so the majority of boots head for there, first chance. And I think I should make clear that my first liberty was up to Los Angeles, where a friend who had been a postman there, really gave a buddy and me a grand tour of all the places you want to see around Hollywood.

In Boot Camp, you learn that your parents have been supplanted by a Chief Petty Officer. And you learn to obey orders, whether they make sense or not. That’s how they train you to do your job, even in battle. And military service can make a man of you, or ruin you. It’s your choice.

And you know…accepting the Lord is a lot like Boot Camp. For lots of people, it take them from bum to respectability; from booze to brotherly love. Others quietly make the decision and their daily life hardly changes, but they have a new leader. I was saved at age eleven, so there wasn’t much visible change in me or my habits. But I made a choice, and tried to stick to it. The Lord had His forgiving moments, but I find that I wouldn’t want to have gone the other way. The choice is Heaven or hell, so it’s no contest, if you think about it.

So…think about it! 37BT Bill Thornton 7-16-07