“He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.”
Jeremiah 17:8
Metaphors are magical. Poets use them all the time, and so does the Lord. It was surely no after-thought that He filled His world with so many tangible things that wonderfully open His truth to us.
Take, for example, His words being “sweeter than honey” (Psalm 119:103), or His peace being “like a river” (Isaiah 66:12). You could try explaining peace all day long and never communicate as much rich meaning as that single word river. The metaphor opens the reservoirs of our own experience and lets us feel the deep, majestic flow of His peace in our soul.
When we read the gospels, we hear Jesus often communicating in this fresh and living way. He uses physical images to fill us with the awe of who He is. He tells us He is the living water, the true vine, the bread of life, the light of the world, the door for the sheep, the good shepherd. His word pictures draw on what we know, have tasted, felt, and seen. They’re meant to be savored, not just by our reason, but by our imagination, so they can deepen our believing and increase our receiving.
Take, for example, His words being “sweeter than honey” (Psalm 119:103), or His peace being “like a river” (Isaiah 66:12). You could try explaining peace all day long and never communicate as much rich meaning as that single word river. The metaphor opens the reservoirs of our own experience and lets us feel the deep, majestic flow of His peace in our soul.
When we read the gospels, we hear Jesus often communicating in this fresh and living way. He uses physical images to fill us with the awe of who He is. He tells us He is the living water, the true vine, the bread of life, the light of the world, the door for the sheep, the good shepherd. His word pictures draw on what we know, have tasted, felt, and seen. They’re meant to be savored, not just by our reason, but by our imagination, so they can deepen our believing and increase our receiving.
Scripture Focus
Isaiah 66:1-13
Insight
“The Gospel … is so real and so true that we need every faculty of mind and body, including imagination, to apprehend it.” (Malcolm Guite, 2021)
Bible In A Year
- Ezekiel 27-28
- Psalm 144
- 1 Thessalonians 5
