A Crown of Thorns
Genesis 3:17-18 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field.
Matthew 27:29 When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
Why are the lives of so many one of difficulties and trials? Why doesn’t God shield His people from all heartache and trials? Why must day to day life be such a struggle for so many?
Such is the nature of fallen man that few spiritual lessons are learned on the mountain tops. Such is our fallen natures that it is often the case that not until we are sunk to the bottom of the valleys that we truly turn to seek after and learn of God. As David once said:
Psalm 119:67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word.
And so, it is written, that as soon as sin entered this world, God cursed the ground FOR man’s sake. A divine discipline, that through the trials and struggles (the thorns and thistles) of our day to day living, we would know our own weakness and insufficiency, and be moved seek after God, in whom we have all things.
Scripture says, “there is no peace for the wicked” (Isaiah 48:22). This is a divine blessing of the highest order. The most awful, dreadful thing God could do would be to leave the sinner at peace in their sin. Trials and troubles, as hard as they may be to bear, are appointed for our good by a God who’s love for us is beyond measure.
That God must take such drastic steps testifies to the powerful hold that sin has in our lives. But even in all our trials and troubles, like roses on thorns and flowers on thistles, we may know all the fullness of love and joy and a perfect peace that transcends all reason and understanding.
YOU SEE — God said that in our lives there would be thorns and thistles, difficulties and trials.
But we can endure BECAUSE Jesus wore those thorns as a crown for us.