After the fall of Adam and Eve, God responded by saying, “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…” God, thus, booted Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden and placed armed angels at the entrance to keep them away from the Tree of Life from which they would gain eternal life (Genesis 3:22-24).
Was this literal or symbolic? You decide. One thing is for sure, no one has gotten back into the Garden of Eden since, and death happens to each of us who are descended from Adam and Eve. That’s how the story begins.
But do you know how the story ends? In Revelation 22, John the Revelator describes what he saw in his vision of heaven: “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 nations (v. 2).
Here’s another important connector in the Bible: The Tree of Life is in the beginning and reappears in the ending. The Bible is one Book, with several continuing threads or truths flowing and interweaving throughout. And its especially interesting that where God made the redeeming connection with man, was up on a tree: The Old Rugged Cross!
Tags: cross, life, tree
Several years ago I transplanted a first year sapling hickory tree from the woods behind my house to our property. I’ve got little growth on it because deer keep biting the top off, or it dries up in dry weather, etc. So, this year I have it shielded in a 6″ corrugated tile and have treated it with liquid fertilizer weekly.
A couple of weeks ago I checked on it and noticed that it had begun to grow, but the leaves had dried up. I got discouraged and gave up on the tree. I quit watering it and fertilizing it, and stopped checking on it.
I peeked down in the tube later, and lo and behold, that thing has sprung to life and has grown a foot! I’m really pleased to see such progress. What made the difference? All I can figure is I left it alone.
Although we need to stay involved in other Christian’s lives, sometimes the best medicine is to leave them alone to fix their own problems. God will teach them just as He has taught us. If we get out of the way. What’s that old saying? ‘Let go and let God.’
Tags: growth, tree, trust
The great sequoia trees of California tower as much as 300 feet above the ground. Strangely, these giants have unusually shallow root systems that reach out in all directions to capture the greatest amount of surface moisture.
Their intertwining roots also provide support for each other against the storms. That’s why they usually grow in clusters. Seldom will you see a redwood standing alone, because high winds would quickly uproot it.
Just as Jesus needed support from his disciples in His hour of trial (Matthew 26:37-38), so do we need such support from one another. Let’s stay connected.
Tags: fellowship, support, tree
Yesterday we were sitting at the dinner table and Adam was discussing how ridiculous the idea was of bringing a tree into the house and hanging stuff all over it. What was the first guy thinking who did that? What does that have to do with the birth of Christ?
It was a great teaching opportunity on the origins of the Christmas Tree. Martin Luther was a German Catholic priest caught up in the system that disassociated priests from laity. Lay people came to church and listened to the priests read from the Bible and recite prayers, and take communion on behalf of a sinful congregation. But the people had no connection to God. Then he got saved.
It was then a pagan ritual to celebrate the winter solstace by cutting down evergreen trees and bringing them into homes to celebrate the new year. Martin Luther, in a creative attempt to make the birth of Christ relevant to common people, brought an evergreen tree into the church he led, set candles upon it, and used it as a teaching tool that Christ is the light of the world. The evergreen tree had been a symbol of fertility, but Martin Luther used it to teach eternal life that is in Christ.
It created a scandal in the Catholic Church but marked the beginning of the Reformation movement as Martin Luther made Christianity relevant to everyone. He was the original Andy Stanley.
Tags: Christmas, relevance, tree