"Consider the lilies … they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these" (Luke 12:27).

In the New and Concise Bible Dictionary, we read, "The lily … the well-known flower of graceful form, of which there are several species that grow in the fields and valleys of Palestine. One of great beauty grows near the Merom waters, and is called the Huley-lily." Whether or not we are acquainted with the species that the Lord Jesus—the "greater than Solomon"—speaks of, the beauty and fragrance of the lily we know best teaches us the same lessons. Its beauty exceeds the greatest glory that Solomon, the wisest of all men, could produce.

Lilies symbolize sinners saved by grace, "clothed with the garments of salvation" (Isa. 61:10), and yielding the fragrance of the indwelling Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

In Song of Solomon 2:1, in the dialogue between the bride and the bridegroom, the bride happily says, "I am … the lily of the valleys." In verse 2 the bridegroom states, "As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters." At one time she had said, "I am black," but grace had come to her, and now she stood in all the favor of her beloved. Such is the picture of the known and enjoyed relationship between the sinner saved by grace, the bride and the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom.

As the lily is the product of the creative power and wisdom of God, just so is the sinner saved by grace and joined to Christ, a product of the work of Christ alone. That work is brought before us in 2 Corinthians 5:21: "For He hath made Him to be sin [a sin-offering] for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." It was not through any work of the lily that it became what it is. As Jesus said, "they toil not, they spin not." Nor is it any work of the sinner to become clothed in the beauty of Christ and accepted in Him by a holy God. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; … Not of works lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good woks, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:8-10).

To illustrate the marvelous wisdom of God in producing a lily, the following list of questions is thought-provoking as to the wonders of His creation. I don't recall the source, but I give it as best can remember:

What You Have to Know to Make a Lily

1. How to extract minerals, etc., and transform them for needs of the plant.
2. How to build roots, to construct stems to stand and leaves that won't blow off.
3. How to make the blossom bloom, make it attracted to the sun to get light.
4. How to transport the water from soil to root, to stem, to leaves, to flower.
5. How to transport food to the bloom and take away the waste.
6. How to put a vapor shop in the plant so any injured part may heal and the plant won't die.
7. How to arrange growth for stability and symmetry and beauty.
8. How to arrange for reproduction.
9. How to put in a perfume factory.

Who can do this? No mere man, and certainly not the lily. Man can make imitations, but there is no life! Just so, man can become an imitation Christian by mere profession, but eternal life is found only in the Son of God, the "Greater than Solomon." Only "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life" (John 3:36). Only these are lilies of God's new creation, brought about by His Word and Spirit through faith in Christ. Is my reader a new creation in Christ?

What is a Lily For?

1. To "adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things" (Titus 2:10).
2. To be "a sweetsmelling savour" of Christ to God (Ephesians 5:2).
3. For Christ to come "to gather lilies" (Song of Solomon 6:2) and take them home to be forever with Him.