Spiritual Meaning of the Lily
The lily is the symbol of purity, divine beauty, and resurrection — the flower of Mary, the flower Solomon's Temple was built upon, the natural image of what grows most beautifully without striving.
Consider the Lilies
The lily (Hebrew: shoshannah — "lily, lotus"; Greek: krinon — "lily"; Latin: lilium) appears in Jesus's most famous teaching on anxiety (Matthew 6:28-29): "See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these." The lily's supreme beauty, achieved without effort, without anxiety, without striving — growing as exactly and perfectly as it was designed to grow — is the image Jesus chose for the unstriving life of trust. The contrast: Solomon in all his splendor (the maximum of human achievement in dressing oneself) falls short of the lily's natural divine beauty.
The Flower of the Temple and Mary
The lily's presence in the Hebrew Bible: the Temple's ornamental capitals were shaped like lilies (1 Kings 7:22); the Tabernacle lamps were lily-shaped; the beloved in the Song of Solomon is "a lily among the thorns" (Song 2:2). In Christian tradition, the white lily (lilium candidum — the Madonna lily) became the primary symbol of the Virgin Mary — purity (white), the Annunciation (the lily appearing in countless depictions of the angel Gabriel and Mary), and resurrection (the lily bulb dying in the ground and sending forth the new stalk). The Easter lily is specifically associated with the resurrection — the white bloom emerging from death. The spiritual invitation of the lily: grow as you were designed to grow, without the anxiety of striving; the divine provides the beauty when the life is properly rooted.
Key spiritual meanings of Lily
- Not even Solomon in all his splendor
- the lily surpassing the maximum of human achievement in beauty
- The divine provision without striving
- the lily growing as designed, without anxiety, without labor
- The Temple's lily capitals
- the sacred architecture built around the lily form — the divine dwelling adorned with flowers
- A lily among thorns
- the beloved's description in the Song — surrounded by what is prickly, she is soft and fragrant
- The Madonna lily
- the white purity of the Annunciation lily, the flower of Mary
- The Easter lily
- the resurrection bulb sending forth the white bloom from the death of the ground
- The anti-anxiety teaching
- consider the lilies — the invitation to receive divine provision without striving
- Spiritual meaning
- the beauty that grows without effort, the divine provision, the pure life that blooms from the dark
Frequently asked questions
What does Lily mean spiritually?
The lily is the symbol of purity, divine beauty, and resurrection — the flower of Mary, the flower Solomon's Temple was built upon, the natural image of what grows most beautifully without striving.
Consider the Lilies
The lily (Hebrew: shoshannah — "lily, lotus"; Greek: krinon — "lily"; Latin: lilium) appears in Jesus's most famous teaching on anxiety (Matthew 6:28-29): "See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these." The lily's supreme beauty, achieved without effort, without anxiety, without striving — growing as exactly and perfectly as it was designed to grow — is the image Jesus chose for the…
The Flower of the Temple and Mary
The lily's presence in the Hebrew Bible: the Temple's ornamental capitals were shaped like lilies (1 Kings 7:22); the Tabernacle lamps were lily-shaped; the beloved in the Song of Solomon is "a lily among the thorns" (Song 2:2). In Christian tradition, the white lily (lilium candidum — the Madonna lily) became the primary symbol of the Virgin Mary — purity (white), the Annunciation (the lily appearing in countless depictions of the angel Gabriel and Mary), and resurrection (the lily bulb dying…
What are the 8 spiritual meanings of Lily?
1. Not even Solomon in all his splendor: the lily surpassing the maximum of human achievement in beauty 2. The divine provision without striving: the lily growing as designed, without anxiety, without labor 3. The Temple's lily capitals: the sacred architecture built around the lily form — the divine dwelling adorned with flowers 4. A lily among thorns: the beloved's description in the Song — surrounded by what is prickly, she is soft and fragrant 5. The Madonna lily: the white purity of the Annunciation lily, the flower of Mary 6. The Easter lily: the resurrection bulb sending forth the white bloom from the death of the ground 7. The anti-anxiety teaching: consider the lilies — the invitation to receive divine provision without striving 8. Spiritual meaning: the beauty that grows without effort, the divine provision, the pure life that blooms from the dark