Ephesians 5:27 is undoubtedly one of the greatest Scriptures, because here we’re told what kind of people the Lord is returning for. The apostle Paul makes it very clear: He’s coming back for a Bride without spot or wrinkle. The reference “without spot or wrinkle” refers to her garments. There’s not a single spot or wrinkle on her garment, something which the Lord had given to her. It’s the ability of the Bride to maintain purity and righteousness. But I also want to suggest to you “without wrinkle” speaks of the Bride’s ability to stay youthful. Jesus is not coming back for an old hag, but for a beautiful, drop dead gorgeous, youthful-looking virgin.
Looking youthful is a billion-dollar industry today. People will pay huge amounts of money to look young again. They go for plastic surgery, Botox, cosmetic or aesthetic surgery simply because they want to look younger or because they’re not happy with the way they look. Plastic surgery is basically the correction or restoration of form and function.
Just take a look at the ads on TV and in the newspapers. They scream to you to try the latest thing just so that you can look young again. But I’m sorry my friend – the truth is – we’re all dying a little, one day at a time; and whilst we cannot reverse the process of aging, which is a direct result of the Tree of Knowledge, we can certainly slow it down.
I’ll always remember a classic sermon by Derek Prince when he spoke on “The Four Prides” – The Pride of Race, the Pride of Place, the Pride of Grace, and the Pride of Face. And when speaking of the Pride of Face, he said some people are very proud that they’ve beautiful features, but give them 30 years, and the inevitable will happen. Aging will take a toll on everyone of us.
Since the earliest of times, and through the ages, people from every generation have all been looking for that elixir of youth. It’s been the quest of every great conqueror and despot. Hollywood of course has glamorized this in the movies they make. From Indiana Jones to the Pirates of the Caribbean, the quest of heroes is to find the fountain of everlasting youth. But is there a fountain of life? If yes, then how do I find it? How do I maintain my youthfulness? How do we stay youthful and wrinkle-free?
Amazingly, the Word of God gives us the answer. If you look into the Scriptures, there’s a secret to looking spiritually youthful all the days of our lives and staying fresh in God. And I believe the answer to that is rediscovering the power of the Tree of Life.
This week, we continue on our series, “The Two Trees in the Garden” and we’ll be focusing our attention on the Tree of Life. We’ll look into how we can once again tap into this marvelous tree and partake of its amazing fruit.
