Pastor's Corner

Our dog looked like a coyote. When I asked the veterinarian what kind of a dog he was, she said, "A coyote." To this day I'm not sure if she was being truthful, or joking around. If he was part coyote, he sure was timid. He enjoyed the berries that are prevalent on the river dike but he wouldn't stick his muzzle into the bush to retrieve the berry because of the thorns. Instead, he'd stand there, look at me, and wait for me to reach into the thorns (sometimes painfully) to get him what he wanted. I've often thought of how Jesus endured the thorns and sufferings of the cross in our place. He endured the humiliation of having a crown of thorns pressed down upon His brow. He reached into the pain to die for our sins and secure our salvation.

The Bible says, "Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head. They clothed Him in a purple robe and went up to Him again and again saying, "Hail, king of the Jews! And they slapped Him in the face." Jn. 19:1-3.

He wore that crown for us. It is staggering to think that the soldiers slapped Him in the face. They even went up to Him again and again and mocked Him as the King of the Jews. The hymn writer penned these words, "King of my life I crown Thee now; Thine shall the glory be. Lest I forget Thy thorn crowned brow, lead me to Calvary."

Because He wore that crown for us, suffered, and was nailed to the cross for us, we desire to be His forever. "We love Him because He first loved us" 1 Jn. 4:19.

Pastor Greg Brownell

Dayton United Brethren Church