thorns. Throughout Scripture thorns symbolize not sin but the consequence of sin. Remember Eden? After Adam and Eve sinned, God cursed the land: “So I will put a curse on the ground. . . . The ground will produce thorns and weeds for you, and you will eat the plants of the field” (Genesis 3:17–18 NCV). Brambles on the earth are the product of sin in the heart. The fruit of sin is thorns—spiny, prickly, cutting thorns. I emphasize the “point” of the thorns to suggest a point you may have never considered: