Life is enigmatic, being both ubiquitously present and particularly absent. We can observe it in its nascent burgeoning into being, and watch it in its final faltering moments before departing this mortal realm. Science can measure it in all of its many shapes and forms, but can’t actually tell us what it is, apart from those shapes and forms. It is the very pulse and rhythm of the whole of existence and is as intimate to us as our next breath. Life happens regardless of our opinions of it – being as transcendent in its essence and dimension . . . as it is at its source.
It is the Christian confession that human life is animated by the very breath of God (Genesis 2:7), and placed in the context of creation as his image bearer. So for the Christian, God is not only the originating source of life but also the sustaining source of it, as well – making God absolutely essential to any comprehension of life. Which is to say – to know God is to know the meaning of life. This is because from the very beginning, man being placed in a garden with the Tree of Life, watered by a river that flowed out of Eden (Genesis 2: 9, 10) – is an image that beautifully illustrates life flourishing as it was always intended . . . in harmony with God.
Beautiful flowers when cut and placed in a vase of water, can be enjoyed for a few days before they have to be dumped in the trash. This is an apt metaphor for how we experience life cut off from its source . . . a life we pretend we control. Now, the beauty of flowers by nature is ephemeral – like the fading glory of the Garden lost, a reminder that there’s a better place to be planted. So instead of living life in exile on our own terms, maybe we could be planted and flourish where the river that flows out of Eden nourishes the soul.
In Psalms 1: 2, 3 – we are told that a blessed man whose “. . . delight is in the law of the Lord . . .” and how he “. . . is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” To be like a tree planted by the streams of Eden would be a delight – but what does that have to do with the law of the Lord? If we think of law here as being confined to the legal sense, it makes no sense, but if we think of law here more in terms of ontological order – i.e. the way creation is ordered by design . . . then this makes a lot of sense.
In John 10:10 Jesus says “ . . . I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” – I think the abundance of this verse correlates with the prosperity and descriptions of flourishing that Psalms 1: 3 associates with the tree planted by streams of water. In this regard, Jesus is the Tree of Life – life everlasting, the life we were created to live as the beloved of God. Because for those who delight in the law of the Lord, the law that set creation into motion, thereby ordering the way of the righteous – they will drink in the waters of Eden and will bear everlasting fruit . . . so that they might bless all they encounter.
Blessed are you . . .
