“Unfurling” may well be the single most important (but least known) spiritual dynamic in understanding how the Kingdom of God operates.
Let me explain.
The “koru” is the Maori word that relates to this “unfurling” growing-tip of the native Ponga fern. Here’s another image for closer inspection:
The Koru is said to symbolise emerging life. This is the perfect metaphor for the kingdom of God. It is in a furled state within each of us. Our individual and corporate faith hoists and hastens its unfurling, while our individual and corporate disbelief hinders and husks its unfurling within us.
Christ’s kingdom of love, life, and light is already unfurling within each of us at different rates and intensities according to our respective hearts’ focus and devotion. Some are richly aware of this unfurling. Some are barely aware of it. Others have not yet to perceive it at all. But it is there.
“Christ is the true light that lights every human who comes into the world.”
John 1:9
Our co-operative devotion waters and fertilizes His kingdom’s inner-quickening and unfolding within our sphere of influence, while our lethargy and lukewarmness delays its full blossom. But it can only be delayed, not stopped. Christ’s life will eventually sprout, unfurl, and emerge in each of us, whether it’s in this age or the age to come.
And not only is this kingdom unfurling progressively within us individually, it is also unfurling within us corporately, as His bride and body.
May this metaphor of the Ponga fern help us all to focus on our “growing tip,” the very nature of Christ which is unfurling within us now, even as we speak.
Editor’s Note: The above is another wonderful piece from Richard Murray. Before compiling this article, I (Nick) had felt led this week to study fractals. It’s a long story so I’ll just get to the point. Fractals are infinitely complex patterns where no matter how much you zoom in or out, every part of the fractal looks similar to the whole image. These are created mathematically, but they are also found throughout nature. In one video I watched, I learned that “ferns” are an example of fractals. (If you zoom in on the individual leaves of a fern, it mirrors the entire plant.) As I meditated on this concept, I thought of how this reveals the infinite nature of God hidden within His finite creation. This is something I hope to expand upon in a future edition of Elisha’s Riddle.Â
All this to say, it amazed me to discover that this article, which I hadn’t yet explored, involved ferns! And not just any fern, but one with even more of a fractal nature – spirals inside of spirals! On top of that, it carried the same essential message I was getting from the Lord about fractals! I love how He speaks through His creation… Again, we’ll expand on this soon…
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