Twisted Thorns

     I was looking up which rides in Disneyland would be best for younger children when I came upon a blog that noted one of the rides was so terrible that "it should be burned with a church youth group inside." The reply to this remark, by another person in the comment section, was something to the effect that he could make that happen since Disney is usually packed with youth groups. I sat staring at the screen thinking, "Is this where we have come? People hate Christians so much they are willing to joke about burning alive groups of children?" 
     Today as I read the Word, I was reminded that they hated Jesus first and "twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head." I am one of the "twisted thorns" that Jesus wore on His bleeding head. My sins were a part of His very torture so who am I to judge the evil men do today? There is a Judge that will come and He will wear a new "crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand."
     In the meantime, He is still willing to give us crowns although we are all sinners. He "crowns you with love and compassion," and one day those who have endured the trials of this day, "will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him." I am a thorn of the Rose of Sharon, may I remember my place as a "Child of God" rather than the "King of the Jews."

John 19

New International Version (NIV)

19 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.

4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” 5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”
7 The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”

Psalm 103

1 Praise the Lord, my soul;
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

James 1:12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

Rev. 14:14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” 16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.