March 13: RESTORED ACCESS TO THE TREE OF LIFE
a river…coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Revelation 22:1) …in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (v.2 NASB)
The word picture that is painted in this verse indicates the sheer enormity of the tree of life. Its trunk is so big around that it can straddle the crystal-clear river that flows from the throne of God, even as its roots make their way deep into both banks of the river. Before sin, our first parents had unlimited access to this life-giving, life-sustaining wonder. We must consider and appreciate that denied access to the tree of life after sin is a blessing from our Creator, who created us to live forever – but not in a sinful state (see Genesis 3:22).
It is our privilege to learn what it means to overcome — to conquer! — our bent toward sin. It is our Savior’s joy to walk with each of us, day-by-day, towards complete victory and restoration! This tree, like no other, symbolizes Jesus Christ, The Word of God (John 1:1, Revelation 19:13). In a spiritual sense, our Holy Spirit-led study of the written word is a type of access to the tree of life when we “eat” it. As the restorative wisdom presented therein becomes incorporated into our mindset, ungodly thinking and habits are dislodged and lose their place. The riches, or fruits, to be found on this tree are eternal jewels, and priceless.
These twelve kinds of fruit, promised for every month, indicate a year-round, perpetual satisfaction of our every need. In the world as it is now, our greatest need is the conquering of self that comes only through being fully yielded to Christ. The aspect of self-control is one of the essential facets of the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22), achievable only through Christ. As He works to sanctify and refine me, that work goes only as far as I will allow. So many of us suffer unnecessarily from temptations, simply because we have refused to allow God to bring us to the next level in our trust of Him. A person’s inner, spiritual nature determines what tempts him or her. On the other side of eternity, after all sin and suffering are banished, we will realize the fulfillment of divine promises that we have only faintly understood from this side. There is not a single need we could have that He will not satisfy. Think of it! Even now, we are given lungs that crave air. He is the Giver of the air that satisfies the lungs that He created.
The tree of life will have leaves…for the healing of the nations. This is not for healing in the context of disease and sickness. No! Those things are done away with! As each of God’s people continue their growth journey in eternity, better and deeper relationships will flourish between those who were formerly distanced from each other due to divisive barriers, including but not limited to language barriers, geographical borders, ethnic tensions, etc. Even now, we are to, by God’s grace, reach across every perceived barrier with God’s healing love, a firm message that unapologetically points to the narrow, glorious path of His salvation.
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation. Neither shall they learn war anymore. Isaiah 2:4b and Micah 4:3b