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A Life Forever

Pastor Jeremy Schultz
May 16, 2010

The Hudson River is a 315-mile waterway that runs north/south through the great state of New York. It eventually forms the border between New York City and New Jersey. I'm not sure if you've ever been there, but I'm quite sure that you remember this – it's known as - the Miracle on the Hudson! On January 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 took off from La Guardia airport. Immediately upon take-off, a flock of Canadian Geese got sucked into the craft's two engines, crippling it. Captain Wesley Sullenberger only had seconds to decide what to do. The New Jersey airport was too far away. The bustling metropolis of Lower Manhattan offered no better alternative. So he headed for the Hudson River and put the plane down successfully in the middle of those waters. That day the Hudson River flowed, as it were, like a wide street running through the middle of the city. And all of the passengers from 9 months to 85 years were saved.

In today's reading from the book of Revelation, what is described is the river of the water of life. It flows right down the middle of the great street of the heavenly city – the New Jerusalem. This river is a symbol of the life that God's people will live – a life forever in the new heaven and the new earth. Therefore it flows right from the throne of God. And on either side of this river stands the tree of life, bearing fruit every single month. If your physical bodies in their resurrected forms are going to need such food at that time – they'll have it. That's the point – in this new heaven and new earth, God is going to dwell with you and He is going to sustain you that you may live a life forever. Because that's what He created you for and that's what He desired for all from the very beginning!

In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve for life. They were meant to live forever. Their specific home was the Garden of Eden. Now let's take a look at that phrase. The word used for "garden" in the Bible is the same word used for "Paradise" – which literally means an orchard or a wooded park. In one place it's used to describe a king's forest. And the term "Eden" means luxury, delight or pleasure. Thus the Garden of Eden was a luxurious paradise – a place filled with vegetation and life with running water and fruit trees. God did all of this for them! There was river flowing through the middle of the garden that split into four main tributaries. And it gave life to the garden. And there were two trees in the middle of the Garden: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And by eating of the tree of life – Adam and Eve would live forever by the blessing of their God. And by staying away from the other tree, as God commanded, they would never have to know the difference between life with God and death apart from Him. But you know what happened.

Adam and Eve chose death. They listened to Satan who tempted them in the garden and they fell into sin. And suddenly everything changed. Like the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, sin and all its effects just kept pouring out. There was no valve that could shut it off. There was nothing the man and woman could do to reverse the effects. Instead of living under God's blessing, now suddenly all of creation was spoiled and was now under a curse. And this curse, like oil that ruins water in the Gulf, quickly ruined everything!

This curse meant the death of people. God told Adam and Eve that on the day they would eat of that tree – the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – the tree that He told them not to eat from, they would surely die. And they did. Spiritually and physically they began to die. The spiritual death of the people was immediate. They sinned. They were separated from God and they needed salvation. The physical death of the people took a little longer at first. But the result of that curse is clear. "From dust you are and to dust you shall return." Life was no longer in their future – death was!

This curse also meant the death of creation. The world was no longer the perfect place that God had made. But thorns and thistles would now grow in the place of fruit trees. Riverbeds would go dry. St. Paul writes in Romans 8 that "creation was subjected to futility - not willingly." Creation didn't have a choice in this. Because of mankind's sin, creation itself was now dying a slow death – the world around us, with earthquakes and famines and dryness and excessive cold. And ever since, "Creation has been groaning" the Bible says..., longing to be delivered.

John Milton, in the 17th century wrote a 12 volume poem entitled, "Paradise Lost." And that's exactly what we have here in the book of Genesis - Paradise Lost! But that's not what God wanted. God didn't want His people to die. He didn't want His creation destroyed. He wanted us to live a life forever! So He sent His only begotten son, Jesus stepped in and took the curse. He became the curse. As it is written in Galatians 3:13 says, "Cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree." And that's what Jesus did!

Jesus hung on a tree for you and for me and for all creation. He took the curse so that the effect of the curse might be undone. Because of Jesus' death, your death is undone. Do you remember what Jesus promised the penitent thief who was crucified alongside of Him? He said, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." Jesus speaks of a life. A life that that man would live that day by faith in the arms of Christ, even while He awaits the resurrection and the last day and the life forever.

But how about that word, Paradise! What a great word. And it sounds so familiar! A luxurious Paradise of Eden restored! That's what we have here in Revelation 22. Complete with the river of the water of life flowing down the middle of the great city street. Complete with the tree of life from which you and I and all with His name written on them will eat! Not only is the curse of death undone, but the curse upon creation too will be undone. Jesus says in Revelation 21:5, "Behold, I am making all things new." Your body will be raised a new. There won't be death and there won't even be sickness or sadness. But creation also will be new. It won't be ruined anymore. But in the new heaven and new earth, you will live a life forever.

Some people have really faulty concepts of what heaven will be like. They might think it will be really boring or else they have this picture in their minds of people wearing togas and sitting on clouds, playing harps. But that's not really a very Biblical picture.

I don't know exactly what it will be like, but my hunch is that the very best of God's life that you enjoy right now will be present – your family and friends who belong to Jesus – the good times you share will be there – but only magnified beyond your wildest dreams. Because 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, "No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined what God has prepared of those who love Him." Simply put – it's going to be amazing...awesome in the fullest sense of that word.

But, what about now? Jesus says that He's coming soon. So what do you think we are supposed to do right now? We are to be channels to bring the river of the water of life to others. Right now, we are to share the news that Christ took the curse for all so that all may have life instead of death. Right now, we are to bring the new creation to the people. You see, on the last day, naked people will be clothed, hungry people will be fed, homeless people will be housed. So we are to do these things today. If somebody needs to have the life of Jesus for tomorrow, then today is the day we must bring it to them. If in heaven, there will be no hunger, then we can't let people be hungry today. If no one is cold in the new creation, then we bring the new creation to that person and clothe them today! You see, we are channels to bring this living water to others – and we do it today! We direct His Word of rescue and blessing so that all might have access to the tree of life in the Paradise of Eden restored.

I was once visiting a church somewhere out west that had a very unique baptismal font. The water in the font was alive. That is, it was moving. It wasn't stagnant. And as I looked around for the source of this movement, it took me outside where I made an amazing discovery. The water in the font was fed by a stream outside of the church that ran under the foundation and into the church. These were the baptismal waters. A river, you could say, of the water of life. In your baptism, God gave you this water of life. And it will sustain you now and also in the New Jerusalem – where you will live a life forever. Amen.