Resting in the power of God to heal what is broken calls for the believer to look unto Christ and the simple truth which is revealed in His word. For the church to bring the good news of the gospel unto the nations means believing in its power. To actually want sinners brought to salvation begins with seeing the work of the Holy Spirit in our own lives. Remembering the moment when we first believed and ate of the tree of life which is Jesus is an encouraging mercy that can only motivate us to do what is necessary so that others may enjoy what we have in the freedom of peace.

We are working through the last two chapters of the Book of Revelation at Bethany in the months of November and December. It’s been a good way to close out the year. The focus of John’s visions gifted and granted to him by the God of grace is to help the young first century church have hope in the midst of unprecedented pressures from all comers. Being able to have peace with what the future holds is what makes Christianity so different from all other world religions. I was talking to someone the other day and I said that maturity in the believer’s life really shows itself not so much in how we react to things in the moment (though it does), but how we see it in light of the Lord’s eternal plan and purpose. For today’s prayer and worship help I want to spend some time thinking about how this same principle can be applied to the worries and anxieties we may or may not have about the nation in which we live.

In the second verse John writes, “In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” I made the point in the sermon last Sunday that when we think of Heaven and the future blessings we receive in Christ that salvation does not, and cannot, bring us back into the same situation Adam was in the Garden. As wonderful as it was to be in a place of pure bliss and to live in the warmth of the day it pales in comparison to the glory that we see pictured in the city with the golden streets. In the picture drawn for us in that verse we see reference made to the Tree of Life. When our first human father lived in Eden it was the source his nourishing, and a daily reminder that every thing that we have as creatures comes by the grace of God.

John Calvin described, following the early church father Augustine, the tree of life as a sacrament. Our catechism gives definition to that word when it says:

Q. 92. What is a sacrament?

A. A sacrament is an holy ordinance instituted by Christ; wherein, by sensible signs, Christ, and the benefits of the new covenant, are represented, sealed, and applied to believers.

Read More