No Ordinary Tree

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”
Revelation 22:1-2 (NIV)

Arise and shine, dear one! God is with you!

As a child, I always loved decorating our Christmas tree. We would collect ornaments over the years and revel at the memories associated with each one as we carefully hung them up. I remember laying down under the tree once it was fulling decorated, gazing up at the twinkling-colored lights. We even played the same Christmas music each year as we decorated the tree, and that tradition has continued with my own children as they sing “Come on ring those bells! Light the Christmas tree! Jesus is the King, born for you and me.”

The Bible both begins and ends with a tree…the Tree of Life. We recently finished our Revelation Bible study at Arise, and this final picture described in Revelation 22 of the Tree of Life has stuck with me. It’s no ordinary tree, but one that bears twelve crops of fruit and even its leaves provide healing. There’s no need to decorate this tree with lights, as Revelation 22:5 goes on to say “There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.”

One day everything will be as it should be, made perfect without any tears, pain, death, or curse. This is only made possible because of Jesus, coming as a baby those many years ago, and His ultimate sacrifice for us. This may be a joyous Christmas, or one marked with tears after a year of suffering. Dear one, as you gaze upon the tree you may have in your home or the many trees in creation, remember that Tree of Life that is to come when God makes all things new!