A Thorn With My Name | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: A Thorn With My Name | Previous Challenge Entry
By Art Fahy
06/12/25
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I lay in bed tossing and turning this warm July night. Reviewing my day, I question myself, do I need to make amends to anyone? I tell myself go to sleep all is okay, but I know better. The battle continues. I surrender. I recall being sharp with my wife when I came home from work. Of course, I justify my attitude in my mind because the boss danced on my chest and embarrassed me in front of my colleagues. I ignored my associate when he tried to ask me a question. My body tightens thinking back to the past and decisions I made that were not in my best interest. There is nothing I can do about them.

King David comes to mind. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband murdered to cover it up. Nathan, the prophet, approached him on this situation. The guilt and shame must have been overwhelming for him. In Psalm 51:4 David writes to the Lord, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” He realizes his sin is against God first.

The image of Jesus nailed to the cross appears in my mind. Two men flank him on their own crosses. Blood and dirt make up Jesus' garment. His pain hidden by His own blood.

My focus falls on one thorn in the crown that Jesus wears. It is a thorn digging in over the left eye. A trail of blood has rolled down into the inside corner of His eye. Jesus has taken on the sins of the world. Every sin man committed, is committing and will commit is forgiven. I am so unworthy of this. Does that thorn have my name on it? Am I the cause of that pain. But not just that thorn that has my attention but every wound that covers His body is my contribution of what He is going through.

Sinning is disobeying God. It is doing what I want and disregarding God’s will for me. Sinning is stepping away from God. The more distance between God and me, the easier it is to sin and justify it. Sin is death, a separation from God. Separation from God causes me confusion and pain. Jesus ripped the claws of Satan from us. We are no longer prisoners of sin. We have stepped into a life of freedom. As believers we have God’s spirit in us to guide us in living free. However, we can step out of this freedom by walking in the flesh and not the Spirit.

Daily we battle with temptation and at times we fall. Why do we do this? It is because of our sin nature. Our impulse is to sin. To overcome these temptations, we must surrender completely to God. We are a work in progress. The Spirit is always working for us. Paul writes in Galatians 5:16, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

The image of the thorn piercing the forehead of Jesus is a strong reminder for me of my sin. I am not perfect. I am a sinner. Perfection comes when I gaze into the eyes of Jesus. What I can do is be more aware of my thoughts. Psalm 19:14 tells me, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight O Lord, my Rock, and my Redeemer.”

It is up to me to call on the Holy Spirit for help. To allow Him to work in my life to guide me to a life like Jesus. Learn to say no to sin and yes to Jesus. That is why we are here to let the Spirit mold us to grow toward Jesus. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else guard your heart. It is the well-spring of life.” Be on guard to what put into our hearts. What is in our heart will come out in our words, actions, or both. Do you want anger, slander, or bitterness to come out of your heart? Or do you want love, peace, and joy? If the latter, pursue to have the mind set of Christ Jesus.

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