The last glimpse that the human race had of the tree of life was over our shoulders as we, in our shame, were driven out of the Garden of Eden. Once human beings had corrupted themselves God could not allow them to live forever and so he barred the way to the tree of life (see Genesis 3:22-24). Amongst all the creatures of the earth, humans were uniquely gifted with immortality. We were given the tree of life; but we lost access to it, and since then it has remained a distant longing; a longing for a life beyond death. Now again in Revelation 22 we see the tree of life standing tall in the new creation with the promise of final healing and eternal life in its leaves. This is a symbol of the new life we will have in our resurrected bodies in the new creation. But though this experience of eternal life is still future, there is a very real sense in which it is also a present reality within us. By the Holy Spirit who dwells in our hearts, the power of eternal life is within us already. Paul says in Ephesians 1:19-20 that this power which is in us is the same power that raised Christ from the dead. And he prays that his readers would know this power in their lives in the present. The seeds of the tree of life are in your heart. This powerful seed is growing in you day by day so that tomorrow your life will bear the fruit that you lack today. Growth is the vital sign of life.
Pray the prayer of Paul in Ephesians 1:17-21.
Read Revelation 22:1-5.
