A Tree to Heal

<p>For $300,000, you can buy a new McLaren 720S sports car. The vehicle comes with a V8 engine pumping 710 horsepower&mdash;considerably more than you&rsquo;ll need for your morning commute.</p> <p>Of course, you might be tempted to use all that power. One Virginia driver learned his McLaren was so &#8220;fast&#8221; it could go from an upscale showroom to the scrap heap in just twenty-four hours! One day after buying the car, he slammed it into a tree. (Thankfully, he survived.)</p> <p>Just three chapters into the story of the Bible, we learn how a different bad choice and a tree marred God&rsquo;s good creation. Adam and Eve ate from the one tree they were to leave alone (Genesis 3:11). The story has barely begun, and paradise is cursed (vv. 14&ndash;19).</p> <p>Another tree would play a role in undoing this curse&mdash;the cross Jesus endured on our behalf. His death purchased our future with Him (Deuteronomy 21:23; Galatians 3:13).</p> <p>The story comes full circle in the Bible&rsquo;s last chapter. There we read of &ldquo;the tree of life&rdquo; growing beside the &ldquo;river of the water of life&rdquo; (Revelations 22:1&ndash;2). As John describes it, this tree will be &ldquo;for the healing of the nations&rdquo; (v. 2). John assures us, &ldquo;No longer will there be any curse&rdquo; (v. 3). God&rsquo;s story comes with the happily-ever-after we all long for.</p>