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Gleanings From The Word

Tag: Kevin Corbin

  • A Lesson From the Lilies – no need to worry

    A Lesson From the Lilies – no need to worry

    I snapped these tiger lilies some years ago. I came across them in my photo file, and they brought a passage of Scripture where Jesus reminds us to trust God to mind.

    And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Matthew 6:28-30

    So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

    It’s a familiar passage. I’ve often seen it illustrated with beautiful white lilies. It’s true that many lilies are white, but the Middle East has a plethora of other colorful lilies as well. 

    It’s impossible to know for certain what species of lily Jesus was speaking of, or what his hearers pictured. In fact, it might not have been a lily at all. The word translated in our English Bible is the word שׁוֹשַׁנָּה, shoshanah in the Old Testament, and κρίνον (krinon) in the New. Either word can mean any of a variety of flowers 

    The image is likely far more colorful than we picture. The call to not worry doesn’t change if we change the flower. Jesus is making the point that is that even ordinary, fleeting field flowers surpass Solomon’s glory in their God-given beauty.

    We often skip by passages like this because they are so familiar. Yet, it’s worth stopping here to meditate.

    If God put that much care and beauty into simple flowers, how much more does He care for us? We were designed to be in eternal fellowship with God. Just stop and think about that concept for a moment.

    It’s profound. Who are we that God should love us that much?

    If God loves us that much, what do we have to worry about in the long run?

    There is great peace and joy in knowing we can trust God to guide us through whatever we face. It’s humbling to imagine that He cares for us that much.

    It’s no wonder that the Psalmist could write… What is man that You remember him, and the son of man that You care for him? Psalm 8:4

    Trust God. He has it all under control.

    Be blessed 

    Kevin 

    You might find this interesting: “Are there tulips in the Bible”

    SUMMARY

    The “lilies” Jesus pointed to were likely far more colorful than the familiar white lily, and that vivid image sharpens the point. If God clothes fleeting wildflowers with beauty that surpasses Solomon’s glory, how much more does He care for us, made for eternal fellowship with Him?

    TAKEAWAY

    The flower Jesus referenced may have been any number of colorful wildflowers. The image is richer and more vibrant than tradition has led us to picture. 

    God lavishes extravagant beauty on simple, short-lived field flowers. His care for us, designed for eternity with Him, is all the more staggering. 

    The familiar passage is worth stopping to really sit with. If God has this covered, what do we have to worry about?

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    Right belief or right living? It’s both!

    Beautiful roses, one of my favorite flowers.

  • The Unproductive Vineyard

    I have spent the bulk of my life living in Alberta, but, for a few years, growing up, we lived in the Lower Mainland.  I was recently reminded of that time when reading a passage about a vineyard in Isaiah’s prophecies.

    We didn’t have vineyards, but there were wild grapes aplenty for the picking. They were typically small and bitter, but we loved to pick and eat them. The vines were wild, untended and scraggly. Unlike the beauties you would find in a well-tended vineyard.

    Now that’s clearly a prophetic passage for the nation of Israel. God had provided everything they needed to produce a crop of righteous believers, but they failed. He sent them into exile in Babylon.

    Let me sing now for my well-beloved, a song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug it all around, removed its stones and planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it and also hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He hoped for it to produce good grapes, but it produced only worthless ones. “So now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, please judge between Me and My vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I hoped for it to produce good grapes, did it produce worthless ones? So now let me tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will remove its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall, and it will become trampled ground. I will lay it waste; It will not be pruned or hoed, but briars and thorns will come up. I will also command the clouds to rain no rain on it.” For the vineyard of Yahweh of hosts is the house of Israel and the men of Judah, His delightful plant. Thus, He hoped for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress. Isaiah 5:1-7

    God brought them back, and still no harvest was produced, so in 70 AD, they were dibursed again and scattered them across the globe.

    The fact that it was a prophecy for Israel doesn’t mean we can ignore it. The same principle can be applied to the church today.

    God has given us everything we need to produce a harvest. We have been born again, carry the imputed righteousness of God and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We have the Word in more languages, formats and translations than ever before in the history of the church. Here in the West, at least (for now), we are free to worship as we choose and to proclaim the gospel.

    There is a crop to be gathered. We know that Jesus said, “

    . Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Luke 10:2

    We need to look at our collective hearts. Are we faithful to the Great Commission? Are we exercising our gifts and talents to grow the kingdom? Do we even care that people are perishing and going to eternal damnation?

    It’s not my desire to beat anyone up over this issue. It’s simply a reminder to keep our priorities straight. As believers, God has expectations of us, and we have been provided with everything we need to get the job done. 

    Let each of us do our part to bring in an abundant and healthy harvest.  That part might be to seed, water or reap, but whatever part we have been called to, may we be faithful.

    Hallelu Yah (Praise God) 

    Kevin 

    SUMMARY

    Drawing on Isaiah 5’s vineyard parable, this devotional traces God’s patient provision for Israel and their repeated failure to produce a righteous harvest. The application turns to the church: we have been given every resource we need, and the question is whether we are faithfully doing our part in the Great Commission.

    TAKEAWAY

     God’s expectations are inseparable from His provision. He does not demand what He has not supplied. 

    The harvest is real and waiting. The shortage is not opportunity but workers willing to enter the field. 

    Every believer has a role, whether seeding, watering, or reaping. Faithfulness in your assigned part is the standard, not someone else’s calling.

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