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Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

In this text we are told of the river of life which nourishes the tree of life which leads to the healing of the nations. God's salvation is not just an individual one but it includes the redemption and healing of all the nations. Creation itself is renewed and made right. It is Eden restored, paradise reclaimed, for all who will enter in. Here is a passage that ties together the first two chapters of scripture and the last. It views the end in light of the beginning and tells us that the consequences of the sin at the beginning have been reversed at the end. The angels with flaming swords set to guard the entrance to Eden have been removed; the gates of paradise have been flung open; and access to the tree of life has been made possible again. Amen! These are truly the words of life.

Obviously, this text could be used a number of ways. One possibility is to use it to preach the funeral of one who had a dramatic conversion in their lives. If the person who has died went through a conversion that led from sin to salvation present the gospel message using his or her life as an example. Or simply talk about how God has overcome our sin and now offers salvation to all who will take it. The deceased took it, have you taken it?

You could also preach about paradise lost. We can all relate to getting off the path and getting lost in life. Many of us have lost our way and found that life can be so much less than God designed it to be. Well, this passage, among others, tells us that paradise lost is not the end of the story. Paradise is rediscovered in Jesus Christ and by all those who follow him. If the one who has died has died in Christ, we can not only talk about paradise found in all its fullness, but we can also share that paradise can be found in the here and now by anyone who follows the same path as the deceased, the path of Jesus Christ.