“Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these … how much more will he clothe you.”
Luke 12:27-28
Poetry calls us to pause and ponder. You can’t skim it or distill it and summarize the main points. You can’t gulp it down like fast food. You need to slow down and savor the riches it has to offer.
G.K. Chesterton once said that while a logician tries to get the heavens into his head, the poet only asks to get his head into the heavens. There’s nothing wrong with logic—Jesus uses it all the time. But poetry does something different. It doesn’t boil things down; it opens them up. It kindles our imagination to see things we would otherwise hurry past and miss, commonplace things that open the heavens.
When Jesus asks us to consider the wildflowers, he’s calling us to linger with Him, to take in their beauty, to marvel at their intricate combinations of color and design. Unlike Solomon’s outward finery, their glory is part of their very being. They assure us that God will clothe us in this life, but they also sing of His extravagant creativity, His delight in beauty, and the pleasure He will take in one day adorning us with glory.
G.K. Chesterton once said that while a logician tries to get the heavens into his head, the poet only asks to get his head into the heavens. There’s nothing wrong with logic—Jesus uses it all the time. But poetry does something different. It doesn’t boil things down; it opens them up. It kindles our imagination to see things we would otherwise hurry past and miss, commonplace things that open the heavens.
When Jesus asks us to consider the wildflowers, he’s calling us to linger with Him, to take in their beauty, to marvel at their intricate combinations of color and design. Unlike Solomon’s outward finery, their glory is part of their very being. They assure us that God will clothe us in this life, but they also sing of His extravagant creativity, His delight in beauty, and the pleasure He will take in one day adorning us with glory.
Scripture Focus
Isaiah 61
Insight
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” (Colossians 3:16a)
Bible In A Year
- Ezekiel 23-24
- Psalm 142
- 1 Thessalonians 1-2
