I saw this picture of a rose today, and was a bit perplexed by the title; I thought: how can thorns be beautiful? Now, my last name is Rose, so naturally I occasionally think about them and even joke about them, saying: Be careful how you handle a rose, for you might get pricked! But thinking about a Rose’s thorn being beautiful… never (until now of course).
Then, there is that hymn that I found a short while ago. Its message is that we all experience unpleasant things, but with God, the hard times are better, for HE is with us. He is our friend, our guide, our ultimate protector. In a way of speaking, HE is our thorn (of protection). Now that I think about it… what does a thorn do, anyway? It protects the flower it is attached to and THAT is a beautiful thing.
That hymn references a couple of Bible verses and I have listed them below, adding a few more adjacent verses for the sake of context.
The Bible says…
Genesis 50 ( World English Bible )
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully pay us back for all of the evil which we did to him.”
16 They sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father commanded before he died, saying,
17 ‘You shall tell Joseph, “Now please forgive the disobedience of your brothers, and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ Now, please forgive the disobedience of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
18 His brothers also went and fell down before his face; and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”
19 Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for am I in the place of God?
20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save many people alive.
Romans 8 ( WEB )
28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.
29 For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
30 Whom he predestined, those he also called. Whom he called, those he also justified. Whom he justified, those he also glorified.
31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Both of the passages referenced just below the hymn’s title show that God does in fact work in our lives to transform this world into a better one. God really loves us. Knowing that will help us through the difficult times in our lives. If we return that love, whatever circumstances we encounter will not be too much for us because we know that no matter what happens- WE WILL NEVER BE ALONE.
I look forward to the day when I can hear the hymn sung, but until that day I will rejoice in the message it conveys and once in awhile think about thorns in a more positive way. Now, if I only can get our song leader in church to actually sing that hymn...