Volume 47   Number 10                                                                       June 2005

The first time I encountered a thistle plant I was only 10 years old. My initial reaction to the plant was to think “What a pretty flower, I think I will pick one of those for my mom.” It wasn’t until I reached out and grabbed the stem of the plant that I discovered the true nature of the thistle plant. Those plants have very sharp thorns. Later when I was older I discovered something else about thistles. Thistles are an aggressive spreading plant that will choke out everything around them. The best way to prevent thistles from taking over is to never let them get established in the first place. Thistles are extremely hard to get rid of once they invade a field and become established.

Thistles in a field make a good analogy to sin in our lives. When sin presents itself in our lives we often only see the enticing part and not the danger of the thorns until it is too late. A farmer will watch his fields to see if thistle is becoming a problem. We too should watch out for sin creeping into our lives. Once we allow sin to take root it will crowd everything else out. We then become slaves to that sin. John 8:34 states: “Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.’” Paul goes on to warn us in Romans 8:7 “The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.” We can’t keep sin in our lives and expect to maintain a relationship with God. No matter how good something appears to be, no matter how good it may feel, sin is sin and in the end there is only one possible result for a life led in sin. “Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death.” (James 1:15). “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)