City Life Starter

Written by Nate Warren

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

John 15:1-4

And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”

Genesis 3:22

Reflection

The Tree of Life is a motif from Hebrew scripture beginning with the depiction of the Garden of Eden and the fall of humanity in the first chapters of Genesis. The context of these passages conveys that whoever eats of this tree will never die, and that after the disobedience of the man and woman, God banishes them from the garden to prevent these sin-plagued humans from having eternal life by this special tree. 

Jesus’ discussion of the vine and its fruit invokes this theme beautifully. Jesus is the Tree of Life. Through abiding in Him that eternal life is possible. We too, by being connected to Him, are the branches of the Tree (see Ephesians 5:30) and will naturally bear good fruit–the fruit of the Spirit (See Galatians 5:22-23).

Application

The final chapter of the Bible depicts the Tree of Life as the source of “healing of the nations” (Rev 22:2). The Bible depicts the Body of Christ – those of us who declare Jesus as Lord and abide in the truth of His word – as the source of nourishment and medicine to a hungry and dying world. It is not by our grand designs that we will be successful in bringing true peace on earth. It is by our doing everything to place Jesus as the first and only priority of our lives that He brings peace through each of us.

Put another way,  it is for you to abide, it is for Him to transform you into His character and empower you to accomplish His work as he prepares the way.

Prayer

Father,

Thank You for grafting me into the Tree of Life. Help me to remain in Your presence, listen to Your instructions, and obey Your Word. Let the world around me find nourishment and healing through Your Life in me.

Amen