Acanthus

Acanthus mollis is a rather impressive flower which grows upon tall spikes. Yet its leaves, which may just be seen the bottom-right of the picture, inspired Greco-Roman architecture. The Corinthian capital (below) shows Acanthus leaves and is considered the most elaborate of the classical capital designs, after the square Doric and Ionian scrolls. It is a little ironic that some organic leaves swaying in the wind should be depicted in hard stone, unmoved and unbending for thousands of years. Beautiful though Corinthian columns are, the plant which inspired them is handsomer still.

In Ezekiel 36, God famously offers to replace hearts of hardness with hearts of life:

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

A human heart without Christ’s life-giving current is but an awkward piece of granite, heavy and lifeless, brittle and stiff. It is but an image, a parody of what it should really be. A heart endued with His breath of life is alert and living, responsive and receptive.

Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay