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“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the heaven of God” (Revelation 2:7).<\/p>\n
In a sense, what we are looking for in this world is the same thing that was lost in Eden. And what God has in store for us beyond this world is described in words that are reminiscent of the original garden: “To him who overcomes will I give fruit from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”<\/p>\n
Beyond our longing for many other things, it is really “life” that we crave. And although we cling to biological life as if it were our most prized possession, what we really want is something else: we want to survive. Spiritually.<\/em> Jesus Christ claimed to be the giver of life at that stage. \u201cI have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly\u201d (John 10:10).<\/p>\n When Adam and Eve sinned, desiring to know all that God knew, even if they had to disobey Him to obtain that knowledge, they were expelled from Eden and cut off from access to the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:22-24). As the long years passed after his death, he must surely have regretted his decision many times. And we, their heirs, must be warned: our own quest for knowledge is a poor substitute for the life we \u200b\u200bhave lost. Lord Byron’s lines were never more true than today: “Sorrow is knowledge: They that know most \/ Must mourn the fatal truth most deeply, \/ The tree of knowledge is not of life.”<\/p>\n Yet through the gospel of Jesus Christ, we can find everything the word \u201clife\u201d ever wanted to express. And the amazing thing is, the life that is available to us right now in Christ is, at its best, just a taste of the fuller life that awaits us. That life itself is what we are achieving, striving towards with all our might. And the sure, powerful hope of that life frees us from the fear of leaving this life \u2013 because for the faithful Christian, physical death has become the door to real life, which is really life. \u201cSo just as the children shared in flesh and blood, so He himself shared in them, so that through death he might destroy him, that is, the devil, who had the power of death. And release those who were in slavery all their lives due to fear of death.\u201d<\/em> (Hebrews 2:14,15)<\/p>\n \u201cHe who always lives to live, is never afraid to die\u201d (William Penn).<\/p>\n Gary Henry – WordPoints.com AreYouaChristian.com<\/a><\/p>\n