THE GLORIFIED STATE "In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life . . ."
"And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: and they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God." (Rev 22:1-9)
Devotion 7 of 33
Our first exposure to "the tree of life" is in Genesis 2:9. You may recall it was a single tree in an isolated place, "the midst of the garden" of Eden. It was not accessible from every place in the garden. It also competed with another tree, "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil," from which Adam and Eve could not eat.
From that early record, we also know that Adam and Eve were not created immortal. Their life continued by virtue of the fruit from the tree of life. They did not die because their life was sustained, not because they had life in themselves.
With the entrance of sin, humanity was barred from "the tree of life." After Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden by the God who placed there, the "tree of life" became totally inaccessible. The reason for this prohibition is stated by God Himself. As it is written, "Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, AND LIVE FOREVER: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life" (Gen 3:22-24). Humanity died both spiritually and physically by virtue of being cut off from the Source of life. So far as their bodies were concerned, the life was sustained by fruit from a single tree.
Thus, the Lord placed a cap, so to speak, on what men could know and experience. With sin, humanity entered into the realm of restriction – severe limitation. The primary stricture related to access to God, Divine knowledge, and spiritual growth. As long as we are in the flesh, these circumscriptions remain. They are in much larger measure than we dare to imagine, even though grace allows us to touch the fringe of truth and handle what we do not fully comprehend.
Our limitations are so extensive the Spirit must speak to us in the language of our text. The "tree of life" is "in the middle of the street." Any place and everyplace we can be found, "the tree of life" will be accessible, i.e., access to the life of God will be absolutely unhindered and free. As if that did not suffice, the tree of life, like a giant forest, is "in the midst of the street and on either side of the river" that flows like a mighty torrent from the throne. Absolutely no communication of any sort will move us beyond the source of life. There will be no place in glory where life will not be abundant. There will be no threat to life, no prohibition, no curse, or anything that jeopardizes life.
In this world we receive "grace for grace," one blessing piled, as it were, upon another (John 1:16). The loving favor of God meets us in the pit as well as upon the mountain. We taste of it when we are suffering need or when we abound. It teaches us be content in diverse conditions. Grace not only brings the things of God to us, it enables us to recover from the debilitating environment of this world, and the "vile body" in which we are temporarily housed.
But in the world to come, life itself will be exponential, as we leap from one degree of life to another. Our responses and expressions will swell and grow without restriction, together with our insights and delights. There will be nothing that makes for death, and everything that makes for joyful life. What a picture is given here!
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You that death is going to be swallowed up by life!