The lilies say: Behold how we
Preach without words of purity.
The violets whisper from the shade
Which their own leaves have made:
Men scent our fragrance on the air,
Yet take no heed
Of humble lessons we would read.
But not alone the fairest flowers:
The merest grass
Along the roadside where we pass,
Lichen and moss and sturdy weed,
Tell of His love who sends the dew,
The rain and sunshine too,
To nourish one small seed.

What do you think of this poem by Christina Rossetti? How did it make you feel? What do you think it means? Did you rush or skim it? 

Be honest, did you read it? 

If you’re like 88% of Americans, you would have skipped over the poem. Forgive me for expecting the worst, but according to a survey done in 2017 by the National Endowment of the Arts, only 12% of adults read poetry that year.  It’s likely that you read a few poems during English in middle school, but since then, poetry is far from your daily life. Today, however, we’re going to learn a lot from poetry. 

Most people consider poetry to be a dying art, as it has been largely replaced by the novel. One can only guess at the many reasons it has fallen out of its literary limelight. Maybe, people find it elitist or boring, overemotional or pointless (why won’t poems just say what they mean?). And while I agree that some poetry may tend these ways, like any literature, there is a splendor of poetry out there for everyone, especially the Christian. 

In fact, poetry fills the Bible. The first pages of our Bible read like poetry. It fills books like Job, Proverbs, and more. Paul recites poetry while preaching and writing his letters. The Psalms are a collection of prayers and songs in the form of Hebrew verse. Through poetry, there is worship, prophecy, and story. God, it turns out, loves poetry. 

Not only does He delight in telling us beautiful, merciful, and true things, but He delights in telling them beautifully. Like a bridegroom to his bride, the church, He speaks to us sweet lyrics (Psalm 45).  It is exciting to think of the ways God has formed and used language, which can awaken our hearts to Him. And, let me tell you, poetry is one of my favorite ways! Rhythm and rhyme, alliteration, allegory, and analogy fall together to tell a truth in a way that is pleasing to the ear and striking to the heart of believers. How wonderful is our God! 

In this blog, I intend to show you more about poetry. Maybe, you’ll even be inspired to read some. But I hope more than anything, this is an encouraging reminder to be still and think deeply on God’s Voice through Scripture. You might never read poetry again after today. But, poetry is going to remind us of two important aspects of a deep devotional life in Christ. First, poetry makes us slow down and dwell on things. Second, poetry lifts up profound truth for us to personally interact with. 

Slow Down and Dwell: The goal of most poetry, like devotional poetry, is to extend our attention span and get us to focus on the things that matter most. The problem is that we live in a culture where our minds are continually filled with quick flashes of random entertainment and media.  The average screen time for an American is close to seven hours a day.  I think God has a good place for entertainment. I mean, I love a TV show to unwind or a movie to see with friends. But we must be careful with our attention. What we choose to set our minds on drastically impacts our feelings, behavior, and heart posture (see Matthew 6:22 and Philippians 4:8).  

When we’re sad or lonely, anxious or bored, many of us choose to be distracted by fast-paced, mindless media. And while we feel some partial relief from the distractions, the cause of our internal issues is left unattended. Conversely, instead of pointing our minds to reading, prayer, and conversation with God, we often look to the idol of media to find rest and guidance. And, it is insufficient. It causes us to be restless, selfish, and misguided. 

In this world of constant distraction and rush and stress, we need to set our minds more on what the Lord has for us.  Only there will we find the truth and peace our minds need. Colossians 3, verses 2-3 says, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” This means we must have times in our week to contemplate spiritual realities and stories in Scripture, rest in the eternal truth of God’s Love and Faithfulness, wrestle with convictions, and express our joys and sorrows to the Lord. 

Poetry, like many forms of art and devotion, reminds us to slow down and attend to these essentials. Devotional reading like poetry requires us to block out distractions and focus on what matters most. Devotional reading teaches us to replace our quick-paced diet of entertainment for a slow, intentional, and abundant meal on God’s Word. Psalm 119, the longest poem in the Bible, says, “I have stored up your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you…I meditate on it all the day.”  Poetry takes the slow attentiveness we all need when taking in God’s Word. Reading the Word, like a poem, means you must continuously explore the language and imagery used. 

Look at the poem printed at the beginning. “The violets whisper…” If you take your time and look closely, this very poem tells us to be careful with our attention, or we will not “hear” the flowers. This means we can fail to notice that, all around us, creation is crying out messages of Scripture. This poem is a reference to Jesus’ sermon in Mattew 6, where He talks about the dangers of worry. He tells us to trust God and seek first the Kingdom. The poem here by Rossetti is encouraging us to look to at what we so often miss. She points us to nature’s analogies to see God’s many messages that He will more carefully provide for His children, as He does so even for the flowers.  

God’s story is infinitely more fascinating and fulfilling than the little distractions on our screens. When we slow down and dwell on God, He will personally show us about Himself; about His wisdom and love. But we must set our eyes upward, as Colossians says. We can do this in prayer and study and conversation with others. To help, try reading this poem if you’re anxious or bored. Suddenly, when you could be staring at media or entertaining an anxious thought, the Spirit is revealing the many ways God has provided for you and others around you. While your co-workers may not even notice it, you are in worship. While your head is still pointed downward with eyes at the words, your heart is in the heavens. Because, your mind is set on heavenly things. 

The Word of God speaks into our souls in a way other voices cannot. Scripture gives us a rest and strength nothing else could, because it is the loving, powerful voice of God. In Deuteronomy 32, the Israelites are ending their time in the wilderness. Moses looks over all the people to raise his prophetic voice once more. And, out of his lips comes a poem over 60 lines long (just a little longer than an Instagram reel). After recapping God’s commandments, faithfulness, covenant promises, and reciting his song, Moses says to His people, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today…For it is no empty word for you, but your very life.” May we all slow down and dwell on the Gospel. It is our very power to new life. 

Profound Truth for Us to Personally Behold: When a poem comes up, we might say, “just tell it to us straight.” Sometimes, this means we just want the info in order to move on, like it’s some sort of quick data to download. We process it like a computer processing data. We don’t interact with it. But, just as poetry calls for us to slow down and dwell, it also calls for us to personally respond to the words. “Our response to a poem involves whatever our own lives have brought to it- the memories, associations, questions, experiences, loves, desires, hopes, and worries we hold,” says Van Engen. “There is far more to a poem than a response, but never less.” For instance, if there is a poem about being a kid again, with no cares in the world, we should bring our own peaceful childhood experiences to it, and that will help the poem come to life for us. Take the poem at the beginning: are there ways you tend to worry and lose faith that God will care for you? We personally interact with the truth of the poem, and there, we experience it. 

Now, this doesn’t mean that we have to make up some meaning for our own interpretation. We can certainly go out of bounds and take a meaning that the author didn’t intend. Likewise, with the Word of God, we don’t invent the meaning or truth according to our own desires or thoughts. Context and history matter when reading Scripture, and this takes study. But even though we might not be the original recipients or main character of the Word, it is for us. And, that means we are called to respond personally. 

I fear that many of us read our Bibles like data processors. Sometimes, I find myself reading it like a kid cramming for a 10^th grade history final. I skim and look for main points and think, “Okay, got it: Abraham didn’t kill Issaac. Whew! Check, I read my Bible for the day.” We read and know the words, but before they ever get home to our hearts, we let them stay in our overcrowded brains to gather dust. 

In a poem, you respond to the ideas of the author, as you’re invited to bring your experiences. With the Word of God, you respond to the Author, as you’re called to lay down your heart. The truth in the Bible is a person: Jesus! This writing is our guide to relationship with the Savior. It alone is the authority for our lives, and therefore, we are called to personally respond to Him through His Word. We need to be reminded that it is more than a poem or a history book to study. It is more than a common language among like-minded religious folk. It is His Voice, and Jesus says we should be careful how we hear it (Luke 8:18). That means that, today, we should not harden our hearts to it (Hebrews 3:15) but submit to Him and His Perfect Will.  

As the Psalmist gives his sorrows to the Lord, we are called to give our own sorrows as well. As the rich young ruler in Matthew is called to give up his idols to follow the Lord, so are we. As the disciples interact with the teachings of the Lord, asking questions and responding to Christ’s request for commitment, we are called to respond likewise. As John the Baptist urges the Israelites to repent of sin and believe, the Spirit calls in our heart to repent and believe also.  As the poor and lame cry out to Jesus for help in Luke, we are called to cry out for Him in our own areas of life where we are helpless. And, just as Jesus transformed all those who responded to His Voice in faith then, He does so now. No wonder the book of Hebrews calls the Word “living and active and discerning of the thoughts and intentions of the heart!” 

Other people say “tell it to me straight,” because they want things to be direct and clear. This is good. They don’t want the fluff of a poem. And, I get that. This is what the disciples ask Jesus to do when they don’t understand His parables. But many deep spiritual realities need creativity to help us grasp the ungraspable. “Reality exceeds description, yet language can illuminate experience,” says Abram Van Engen. “Poets often use words to take us to the very edge of words and show us what lies beyond…where the Creator manifests a world magnificent, multifarious, mysterious, and always more than we thought we knew. [Devotional] poetry touches the truth again and again. It explores the heights and the depths of the riches of God and the world God has given us to love.” 

God created language, and He often uses it beautifully, because beauty attracts us to know more. While there is no substitute for the Spirit, God often uses words and stories, parables and poems to awaken our hearts to His. A devotional life in Christ means that we should daily delight in the beauty of God’s Word and story.

Catholic poet Dana Gioia writes, “When Jesus preached truth, he told stories, spoke poems, and offered proverbs.” We may not literally be branches, but Jesus says we are dependent on Him like branches to a vine. And, like the stories of Jesus, one point of poetry is to not tell it to us straight but to tell it to us slant. Meaning, it is a careful, personal, and creative way to communicate profound truth. The Psalmist in 91 could have said, “God takes care of us.” But, to capture our hearts in God’s character, he uses imagery: “Under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.” The famous hymnist and poet Charles Wesley could have said, “I have burdens.” But that doesn’t capture the weight. He tells it slant. Instead, he says, “Of prayers, and hopes, complaints, and groans, my fainting soul in silence owns. I can hold out no more.”

Here, poetry reminds us of the power of words. We all know the moments when words seemed to strike the very core of our souls. Perhaps, it was something as classic as once upon a time, when you first found the calming power of story in your mother’s goodnight voice. Perhaps, it was the first time your husband or wife told you they love you. In those moments, language meant you were valued and cherished in a way you didn’t know before. Perhaps, it was something as harsh as ashamed or hate. Now, language is your very despair. Perhaps, it was something as catastrophic as cancer: the worst word in the English language. 

Perhaps, it was the very words of our Savior: “Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,” Now, the language of our Savior’s Voice, fueled by the very power of the Holy Spirit, awakens in you a sense of other-worldly peace that no other word could. 

God could have made us all data processors: robots using language to get things done. We could have been His little encoders, inputters, and analyzers. Where is the relationship in that? God is far too wonderful and far too loving for that. He designed language to help us know Him personally and respond. He uses stories and parables and poems to attract and awaken us to His Heart. He calls his followers friends, students, and royal priests, because He gave us personal minds and hearts. And these personal minds and hearts are made to be indwelt by the Spirit of His Eternal Word, Jesus, and the shine of His Character. May we all have the courage to slow down, dwell on, and personally respond to His Voice. And, in turn, may we be daily struck to the core of our souls by the Word of God.

*This piece was inspired from Abram Van Engen’s Book Word Made Fresh: An Invitation to Poetry for the Church.