God gave Adam & Eve a beautiful residence – the Garden of Eden in which to live. They would care for and guard it against intruders (Gen.2:15). There were two special trees mentioned, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:9). They were specifically told they could eat from all the trees except the fruit of the knowledge of the good and evil tree. However, Satan tempted them and they yielded to the temptation and ate from the tree (Gen.3:1-6). As a result of that, all humanity since has been born with a propensity to sin and desires to do our own thing (Rom.5:6-21). They never got to eat the fruit of the tree of life because they were driven out of the Garden (Gen.3:24).
The Tree of Life
There are a few other mentions of the tree of life in the Bible. They include:
Wisdom is said to be a tree of life to those who take hold of her (Prov.3:18).
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life (Prov.11:30).
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life (Prov.13:12).
A wholesome tongue is a tree of life (Prov.15:4).
Overcomers will eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God (Rev.2:7).
In the New Jerusalem “In the middle of the 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.” (Rev. 22:2).
“Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and enter through the gates into the city” (Rev.22:14).
Other Fruit of the Fall
Childbirth pangs (Gen.3:16).
Earn a living through toil (Gen:17-19).
Broken fellowship with God (Gen.3:22-23).
Murder (Gen.4:8).
Corruption and Violence (Gen.6:11-12).
Noah’s Flood (Gen.7-8).
Division of languages (Gen.11:6-8)
And all other types of sin that we are all too familiar with!
The Good News
Jesus loved us so much that He was willing to take our sin upon Himself and die for us and as us (John 3:16, Rom.5:8). The old man is dead and we are a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Cor.5:17-21). The Cross of Calvary has become our Tree of Life for through it we have eternal life in the present and the future.
To get a more complete view of our future, read Revelation chapters 21-22.
Some of the things waiting for us are:
He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death, sorrow, or crying. There will be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. All things will be made new. Access to the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. There will be no more curse. The redeemed will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. There will be no night there. They will not need lights, for the Lord God gives them light and they shall reign forever and ever!
The thing we need to do now is to make sure that Jesus is our Savior and Lord!