And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him.
John 19:2 (NASB)
As the sun was setting on Saturday evening, I was sitting in our back garden, enjoying the cooling breeze after the heat of the day. The trees rustled rhythmically from side to side, the pigeons cooed their roosting call in the distance. I watched squirrels scurrying back and forth on the adjoining fences, gathering nuts provided by our neighbor three doors away. Then I heard the gentle flutter of tiny wings, I turned to see a robin perched only a few feet away next to the garden shed. I smiled at our regular visitor, who didn’t have any fear. It isn’t unusual for robins to accept food from a hand. I have always had a particular fondness for these little beauties, not least because they remind me of my Lord.
Robins remind me of my Lord due to the legend attached to how they attained their red breast. The legend says that a little brown robin was present at the Crucifixion of our Lord and was distraught by the cruelty it witnessed. It felt the least that it could do was to remove one particularly deep thorn from Jesus’s brow, from which blood spurted staining its plain breast plumage. The legend further says as the bird was trying to wash in a stream, our resurrected Lord recognized the wee bird and blessed it for its compassion, saying that the red breast would remain as a reminder through generations as a badge of honor. This fictional story has value to me, every time I meet my garden friend, I remember my Lord and Saviour on the cross of Calvary for me.
Dear reader, what reminds you today of Jesus, and what He did for you at Calvary?
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Devotional Treasures
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