April 2026 Revealing Light Newsletter

Trees bring the fruit of life, yet hanging on one means death. Trees were meant for life; yet life came from His (hanging/crucified) death. Even in the beginning, in the Garden of Eden with Adam & Eve, The Fruit from the Tree of Life, was meant to give us Life. However, it was also said, "cursed was anyone who hung from a tree" (Gal 3:13; Deut 21:22-23). Jesus hung on that tree that was meant for life. Yet from Jesus, He actually gives us the fruit of that tree for eternal life (Romans 6:23; 1 John 5:11-12). Jesus is the Eternal Fruit of Life that Hung from the Tree. Instead of our sin leaving us in death on that tree, Jesus reverses that curse by bringing the fruit of everlasting life.

The Apostle Paul tells us that Jesus Christ is the First-Fruit of what is to come!
"But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him." (1 Corinthians 15:20–23 (NIV))
 
And like Him, through the Resurrected Power of the Holy Spirit, we'll be transformed from the perishable mortal body to the imperishable immortal body...
"I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true:
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:50–58 (NIV))

Because of Jesus through His Holy Spirit, we have been spiritually resurrected to new life, shining His resurrection power through us now, shining brightly even in the darkest of places. This through the Holy Spirit in us is just the down-payment (2 Cor 1:22) in our life for the resurrection hope that we have for eternal life with our Life-Giving God through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. [Rom 6:3-5; 7:4; 8:11; Col 2:12-13]

We're reminded that we join Jesus in our own death, burial, and resurrection as we do this through our Baptism, into life through the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We live Resurrected Life now spiritually as we look toward the Resurrection Hope that we have through Jesus’ Bodily Resurrection. [1 Peter 1:3, 23]

So we live this life together now as Paul had shared:
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Gal 2:20)

- Daryl Struemph

BibleProject has helpful illustrated videos to help us see some of these themes throughout the Bible, and the Tree of Life is one of those images that can greatly bless us when we consider the tree Jesus died upon to give us the fruit of life with and through Him. I invite you to take a couple minutes to consider this as you watch this four minute video from BibleProject.

BibleProject: "In the opening pages of the Bible, God gives humanity a gift that they quickly forfeit—eternal life that comes by eating from the tree of life. In this video, we explore the meaning of this powerful image and how sacred trees play a key role throughout the story of the Bible. It all leads up to Jesus himself, who died upon a tree so that he could become a new tree of life for all humanity."

Click here to watch the "Tree of Life"

2 Corinthians 3:18
"And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

 2 Corinthians 4:16–18
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 

2 Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"