Thorns - Daniel Morrison

“Ouch!” I yelled as some of the fellows and I were clearing brush. “Ugh, this is annoying.” Thorns. Everywhere! Now, it would make sense that the more brush you cleared, the thorns would disappear as well, but somehow those little spikes of doom kept scraping and cutting into our skin. It was as if they were never going to go away. As we continued clearing the brush and loading it onto a truck, I started to think.

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In the Fellowship, we are encouraged to find a 21 day challenge to either improve ourselves individually, or improve as a community together. During this particular 21 day challenge, one of my individual challenges was to see Jesus in everything I do and journal it. Everything. Whether it would be eating a meal, running activities, finding rest, talking with guests, I wanted to see Jesus in it all.

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As my mind was racing with thoughts, I began to think about some of the events the led up to Jesus’ death on the cross.
“And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head...” (John 19:2) Hold up. Record scratch. Say what? A crown of thorns? On his head?! Jesus stood there willingly, silent, and still while he was beaten, mocked, and scorned. There I stood in the grass field annoyed and complaining. See where I’m going here? Jesus Christ took the crown of thorns, suffered, and bled for me. For you. For EVERYONE! Jesus cried to the Father saying “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done (Luke 22:42.) Jesus knew what had to be done. Jesus did not stand there with a crown of thorns on His head yelling “Ugh, this is so annoying!” or “Why am I doing this?” No, Jesus knew exactly why He was doing this and He did it without complaining. What a sad, yet beautiful, picture it is to see Jesus willingly suffer and die for the sins that you and I deserve to die for.

During the first three months of the Fellowship, the Lord has opened my eyes to see differently. Differently in the aspect of how I view others, myself, and the world around me. I find myself growing. Growing in patience with others. Growing in learning to not complain when times are tough. Growing to be a leader to those around me. Finding Jesus in every detail I come across has given me new eyes. These thorns that pierced my skin have become a beautiful representation of the love Jesus Christ has for me. What are your thorns?