Thorns of Pain and Freedom

 We began the day by clearing an area of brush around the well house at the ranch. Everyone in the family had put on their boots, jeans, long sleeved shirts, and gloves in order to protect us from briers or thorns that we may encounter. As we began to cut long limbs from trees the work became even more difficult because of the long vines of thorns. The thorns were choking the oak tree and everywhere we looked there were thorns. The kids began to help us cut the thorns from the ground so that we could pull them from the tree. As we continued working I began to understand more and more the passages of Scripture that referred to thorns and the Lord began to teach me more about sin through this day of work.

Each time I went to grab a vine I was careful to place my fingers where there were no thorns. Inevitably, one part of my hand or arm would get entangled in the vine that I was trying to remove. I was reminded of how sin so easily entangles us. "Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..." Heb. 12:1 

No matter, what way I turned, I was snagged and if I struggled more the more the thorn was pushed into my skin. I had to stop and be focused in order to remove it. It reminded me that the sins in our lives can snag us so quickly that we tend to try to brush it off but it is secretly dragging us more into its grip. We as brothers and sisters in Christ must be humble enough to express our struggles with sin so that through love, encouragement, and accountability we may grow in Christ and resist the thorns of sin. "Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." James 5:16

As I stood at a distance watching my husband pull these long vines off of the oak tree, I noticed that thorns were breaking off of the vine and flying toward my children and myself. It reminded me how our sins can affect those around us and harm them as well. The consequences of our sins can have a negative impact on our family and friends. We can see that all through Scripture beginning in the Garden when Adam and Eve are tempted by Satan, we are all still feeling the effects of their sin. Families were cursed in the Word because of generational sin as well. We must be careful how we live. "Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of your time because the days are evil..." Ephesians 5:15-16

The next day after the brush had been cleared I noticed a pain in my finger that I could not get to stop. As I looked closer, I noticed that I had been poked by a thorn and it had left a mark. Although the thorn was gone, the evidence of its contact with my finger had not disappeared. The pain was still quite real and I was reminded of the time among the thorns. For those of us who have been forgiven and redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ our sins have been washed away and we are healed because of his sacrifice. In fact, a crown of thorns adorned his brow when He carried our sins to the cross. We are set free and He has cut the thorns from our lives. We must always be alert because the devil is seeking to entangle us. "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a lion, seeking someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8

The thorns in life can cause a great amount of pain or leave a residual pain reminding us of the past. But the thorns that hung on the brow of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ reminds us that the pain sin can cause can be erased by the gentle hand of our Savior. He carried the thorns so that we may be free. "It is for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1