Brook and her best friend Jenna had just finished a picnic lunch on the back porch of Jenna’s house. It was a breezy, bright summer day and they were trying to think of new things to do in the spacious yard. They were tired of the swings and the jungle gym, but they were supposed to stay around the house until Brook’s mother came to pick her up. Close to the back fence, Brook noticed a perfect climbing tree. How could she have missed it before? Tall and shady, the tree stood with low, level branches that seemed to beckon the girls invitingly as if to say, “Come and climb up here!” Brook was the first one to grab the lowest branch and hoist herself up into the tree. By the time she was on the next level up, Jenna, who was at her heels on a lower branch, heard a loud cry of pain from her friend.
“This tree is full of thorns, Jenna! Why didn’t you tell me? I think my hand is bleeding!” sobbed Brook.
“Oh no! I didn’t know it had thorns...I’ve never tried to climb it before,” said Jenna sympathetically. “Let’s get down carefully and go get a Band-Aid.”
Did you ever wonder why some plants, even beautiful ones, like roses, have thorns? Maybe you have tried to pick a flower that you thought would help make a nice bouquet for someone but got pricked with a thorn instead. The Bible explains why there are thorns and thistles on many growing things. The third chapter of Genesis tells the story of how the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, brought sorrow into a world that had been perfect, by disobeying God’s command. Because of this first sin, they would have to work hard to grow plants from the ground because it was now cursed, and weeds and thorns would make the work of growing food very difficult!
As beautiful as the creation is, we are reminded almost every day of the fact that sin has marred it, not only affecting plants and animals, but every one of us as well. Just like Adam and Eve, we all have come short of the glory of God by saying and doing things that God calls sin, things we are ashamed of. And just like the thorn that hurt Brook, sin hurts us and reminds us that we live in a world that is far from the perfect one God made.
Back to the girls in our story ... now the trick was to get down and out of the tree without getting another painful prick by a nasty thorn. You can imagine how slowly and carefully Brook lowered herself to the next branch below. But now it was Jenna’s turn to cry out as she also tried to descend...there was a ripping sound as Jenna’s shirt sleeve tore on another thorn that also scraped her arm. Now she was caught by the thorn pulling at her shirt! Carefully, Brook got her balance and gently loosened her friend’s shirt from the sharp thorn.
Since we are all “caught” by the same sin nature we inherited from Adam and Eve, we are not able to really help anyone else get freed from sin. But we can tell them about the One who can truly free us from sin’s awful consequences. That One is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, who wore a crown of thorns for you and me and suffered the shame and agony of the cross when He took our sins upon Himself over 2000 years ago. He did this because of His great love for us!
Messages of God’s Love 11/15/2020