Continuing the consequences addressed to the man in Genesis 3, this verse specifies that the ground will produce thorns and thistles, and the man will eat the plants of the field — a demotion from the abundance of the garden's fruit trees to the harder, more uncertain yield of field crops. The appearance of thorns in creation is associated from this point forward with the curse — and Scripture carries this image all the way to the crown of thorns placed on Jesus' head at the crucifixion (John 19:2–5), an image of the curse being worn by the one who would reverse it. Hebrews 6:8 uses thorns and thistles as a picture of what is worthless and close to being cursed. The hope embedded even in this verse is that the thorns are not the final word — they are the sign of a curse that is being undone. Today, when you encounter the 'thorns and thistles' of your work — the frustration, the resistance, the effort that yields less than expected — name them honestly and bring them to the one who wore the crown.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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