A Taste of Eden
Fulfilled Hope
Scripture Focus:
“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 22:2
The image of the tree of life bookends the Bible—from Genesis to Revelation. In Genesis 2:9, the tree of life stood at the center of Eden, a symbol of eternal life and unbroken communion with God. But after the fall, access to that tree was barred (Genesis 3:24), representing the fracture of relationship and the onset of death, sorrow, and separation.
Yet Scripture does not leave us in that place of exile. The closing chapters of Revelation reveal a breathtaking promise: the tree of life appears again—this time at the center of the New Jerusalem, its leaves bringing healing to the nations. God’s plan has always been restoration. Fulfilled hope, in Christ, becomes not just relief, but renewal—a return to intimacy, abundance, and joy.
As Tim Keller writes, “The Bible begins in a garden with a tree and ends in a city with a tree. The story is about how we lost the tree and how God brings us back.”
The tree of life is not just a future hope—it is a present grace. Through Jesus, the Tree of Life is already blossoming in our hearts. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit” (John 15:5). This is the flourishing of fulfilled hope.
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for the promise of restoration through the tree of life. Help me abide in Christ, that I might bear fruit even now. May my life be a reflection of the joy, healing, and hope You bring—a living branch of Your eternal tree. Amen.
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