Two Trees

I love trees. Their grandeur as they reach for the sky paints a beautiful picture of how we, and the whole creation, were made to worship the Creator. Two trees stand out among the many described in our Scriptures. They are both called “the tree of life,” and one starts the Bible story, and the other emerges at the very end, both in a Garden. We can tell and begin to understand the big arc of our story by learning from these two trees. They anchor our place in the future unfolding drama of what the prophet Isaiah and the apostle John in the Revelation called a “new heaven and a new earth.” What will life be like for those who follow Jesus in the renewed creation? Specifically, what will our work be like after Jesus returns to make all things new? We might wish the Bible were more specific, but it chooses to give us tantalizing sign-posts along the trail that call for us to exercise a communal sacred imagination. Let’s do that together as we consider our calling in work in light of the declaration, “No longer will there be any curse.” [Revelation 22:3]