Leaves Heal Nations

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.  No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.  They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.  And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever."   Revelation 22:1-5

In the scripture passage above, we read that, in the heavenly city come down to earth, the New Jerusalem, there are certain trees that have some very special leaves which play an amazing role in the life of the new earth.  These are the leaves on the tree of life, and they serve to bring “healing to the nations!”

When you read this, several questions come to mind.  What kind of healing do the nations need?  How can leaves heal them?  Are the leaves eaten?  Ground up into medicine?  How does this work?

To explore this, I believe it would be beneficial to look more deeply at the leaves that we humans see regularly in our everyday existence.   Generally speaking, people don’t pay much attention to leaves other than enjoying the shade they provide or taking in their rich colors in the fall season.  But leaves are actually quite remarkable.  Not only are they necessary for the health of the tree, they are an essential component of God’s creation.  All animal life is dependent upon them for health.

Leaves look very simple, but they are powerful living machines, constantly absorbing and utilizing three elements from their environment: water, light, and carbon dioxide.  The water flows up from the ground through the trees’ roots and into the leaves.  The light comes from the sun, and is received and absorbed by cells on the top of the leaf.  Carbon dioxide is absorbed from the air by the leaf through a different set of cells on the bottom of the leaf.  The light from the sun provides energy that powers photosynthesis, a reaction between the water and carbon dioxide.  The end result is a sugar called glucose, which provides food and energy for the tree. 

However, not only is the tree fed through this process, the surrounding environment is impacted as well.  The carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is actually poisonous to animal life.   A tree’s leaves remove this gas from the air and releases oxygen in its place.  And, of course, without oxygen there is no animal life at all.  We are indebted to leaves for the air we breathe and, in a very real way, life itself!

But there’s more!  A tree’s leaves scrub and purify our air!  Sulfur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide are all pollutants that humans breathe in and can cause serious health issues.  At the same time the leaves are processing carbon dioxide, they are also absorbing and retaining these dangerous toxins,  replacing them with clean, life-giving oxygen.

Oxygen is not the only thing that leaves put into the air.  Excess water that is drawn into the leaves but is not used in photosynthesis is released into the atmosphere through a process called transpiration.  The release of this excess water moisture creates a cooling effect, reducing the temperature around the tree.  Now we know why it is so pleasant under a shade tree on a hot summer day.  It isn’t just because the tree is blocking the light of the sun.  It’s because the transpiration of the leaves is cooling the surrounding air. 

What an awesome display of God’s creative power!  So much good comes from something so small that we hardly ever notice.  Food for the tree, clean air to breath, poisons removed from the atmosphere, and a cool shade to rest under are all produced by these miraculous organic engines. 

And all of this occurs automatically just because they’re leaves.  They don’t have to think about it, they don’t have to work at it. It just occurs by being connected to and a part of the tree.  All they have to do is just be what they were created to be.

As mentioned above, the Bible tells us about the New Jerusalem, where God is on the throne and his presence and glory fills the city with divine light.  Among the many things that we see in this city is a river flowing with the “water of life.”  Alongside the river is where we find the “trees of life,” bearing twelve kinds of fruit to feed the inhabitants of the city, and growing the leaves that will bring “healing to the nations.”

I would suggest that, like so many other things in Revelation, these leaves are metaphors, representing mature believers, those who have been drawn near to Christ and whose life is firmly connected to His indwelling presence, which is the tree of life.  These mature disciples bask in the light that emanates from the throne of God which is established in their life by the rule of God in their heart (Revelation 22:5b: [A]nd they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them...).  They are fed by the water that flows into them from the river of life, even as Jesus promised in John 7:38 (He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”) Then, empowered by this divine light and living liquid, these disciples function just as leaves do, cleaning the spiritual atmosphere by absorbing negativity out of the environment and replacing it with the immaculately clean and positive presence of God. 

How can believers perform the function of cleaning the spiritual air?  We face countless opportunities each day!  When wronged, we refuse to retaliate.  When cursed, we respond with blessing.   When offended, we do not judge. And when we encounter those who wound others because they themselves are wounded, we respond with mercy, love, and forgiveness. As we do this, we are releasing the healing power of God into the air, displacing the toxic forces all around us.  There is truly a supernatural, divine interchange that occurs.  The power of Christ’s life within us flows out into the atmosphere to replace the power of death.

And just as food for the tree is produced within the leaves the poisonous carbon dioxide mixes with water and light, we also produce spiritual food for the people of God through the encounters we have with the poisonous toxins in our spiritual environment.  The tree of life in the New Jerusalem produces the “twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month.”  Likewise, our interaction with the poisonous forces in the environment, exchanging blessing for cursing, puts the life of Christ on display in a powerful way, producing evidence of His glory for all to see.  The more we engage in this process, the more Christ can be seen, revealing His nature to those around us and resulting in even more fruitful life in us, the leaves of the tree. 

Also, even as the leaves of the tree produce the cooling shade for all who would take shelter under it, we serve a similar function.  The prophet Isaiah spoke of the day when all of God’s people would have access to a “shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain.”  As mature believers become fully at one with the tree of life, they can help others weather the storms of their lives as they move forward on their own path to growing closer to Christ, bearing his image more fully.

Jesus said that he and his Father were “one” (John 10:30).  Jesus prayed in John 17:21 that this would also be the experience of His followers.  As His followers, the leaves, become more fully connected to Christ, the tree, the fresh air of the Holy Spirit flows out of their lives in greater and greater magnitude.  The result of this marvelous union will be whole nations transformed to reflect the glory of God.  This has been God’s plan from the beginning, when He promised Abraham that, through his seed, all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 22:18).

One more thing that is notable about leaves is that, at the end of summer, they change into brilliant and beautiful colors for our enjoyment before they fade away.  Then, they drop onto the ground, and decompose, enriching the soil so that the tree might be healthier and the next generation of leaves that arrive the following year can be even more powerful.  May the Lord grant that we do the same at the end of our season, going out in a blaze of His beautiful glory and then, like a seed, falling into the ground and dying, bearing much fruit for the next generation in the process. 

This blog is devoted to the pursuit of the world-transforming union with God that will allow us to grow fully into the leaves that heal nations.