Insights into the Tree of Life
The word of God has many themes and one of those that I have been fascinated with is the Tree of Life. From the book of beginnings that is Genesis, we see that God created in six days and rested on the Seventh day. God took the elements of what He created and "planted " a garden in Eden. "And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the middle of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil." Genesis 2:9. The last chapter of the Bible in the book of Revelation reveals the same Tree of life with additional puzzle pieces so that we can see the whole picture.
Revelation 22:1, 2 says, "And he shewed 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 types of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."
Jesus is the source of power. He is the pure river of the water of life. It's that living water that springs up to everlasting life that Jesus offered to the woman at the well in John 4:10,14. He brings to us His word, the Bible, and from the tree of life presents to us the leaves (promises of God's word) for the healing of sin-sick souls. He leads us to the throne room of God.
Every day Adam and Eve had a choice to come to the throne room of God under the tree of life to worship and be in communion with their creator God or visit the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Both trees were near to each other. In fact, they were in eyesight of each other being in the middle of the garden. In talking with God and Him talking with them, giving them His living WORDS, they were partaking of its fruit and leaves therefore perpetuating immortality. The more they time spent with their Creator God the more they would bear fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, faith, gentleness etc. Adam and Eve were then to be a tree of life to those around them.
"Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is: For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall be afraid when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." Jeremiah 17:7,8