No longer will there be any curse…

— Revelation 22:3a

17 And to Adam He said: “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat, cursed is the ground because of you; through toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.

18 Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”

— Genesis 3:17-19

20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope

21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time.

— Romans 8:20-22

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and love from Christ to you.

Just as God placed the first man and woman into a beautiful garden in Genesis 2, so now a lavish, fruit-filled garden fills the center of God’s city, New Jerusalem. Crystal-clear water, glistening leaves, and colorful ripe fruit growing on luscious trees provide a radiant atmosphere. The freshness and sustaining power of our life-giving God permeates this beautiful scene. The sound of the rushing river and rustle of the healing leaves are joyful praises to God in this glorious city. Eden has not only been regained on the renewed earth but is even better than the original.

Significantly, John adds that in this new world there is no longer any curse. After disobeying God, Adam and Eve left Eden with sin’s curse hanging over them. The earth would be filled with weeds and would be difficult to farm. Pain and strife would characterize human relationships. Above all, God withheld the Tree of Life from sinners. Every living thing, including every human being, would die. Throughout human history, creation has groaned under the curse of the Fall. Praise the Lord! At long last, this curse will end, and sin and death will be removed.