The Truth about the “Fountain of Youth”

Posted on Apr 04, 2024 Topic : Inspirational/Devotional, Women's Christian Living
Posted by : Courtney Doctor

In March 2014, my mom and I took my two daughters to Florida for their spring break—first to Disney World, and then to the beach. We decided to take a day trip and drive to Saint Augustine, a small and beautiful town on the northeast coast of Florida. Saint Augustine is famed for being one of the oldest Spanish settlements in the United States. It is also known for being the home to the highly sought after (and supposed) fountain of youth. My mom and I were, of course, very interested in finding this fountain! We did, and yet it has proven to be less than magical. My hair has continued to gray, new wrinkles seem to show up every morning, my mother’s arthritis has continued to plague her, and there seems to be no end to our aches and pains.

One of the realities of this world is that we age, and our bodies slowly wind down. And yet, so many of us fight aging; we know deep within our souls that the effects of aging are not what God intended. So we look in all kinds of places for weapons with which to fight this enemy—everything from the fountain of youth to the fountain of new medical breakthroughs. We exercise, take vitamins, buy the latest face serum, and dye our hair. Some go so far as to surgically remove or alter the signs, hoping that, before it’s too late, someone will discover “the cure” for this horrible disease called aging.

The reason we long for a fountain of youth is because we were created for it! Do you remember what was in the center of the garden of Eden? The tree of life—and it was given so Adam and Eve (and any who had access to it) would have immortality. The tree of life was the true Fountain of Youth—take of it, and you will never die. This is why our hearts long for immortality, but, like the song says about looking for love, we search for it in all the wrong places.

After Adam and Eve sinned, God’s mercy compelled him to banish Adam and Eve from the garden and prohibit their access to the Tree of Life. If he hadn’t, they would have lived in their new state of sin and misery forever. And God loves us too much to leave us in that state. In fact, the entire story of redemption is the story of the great lengths to which God goes to ensure that we don’t live in that state forever, but to bring us again into a state of holiness and allow us to live forever in his presence.

One of the glorious things about the story of redemption is how God restores what we lost. And the tree of life will be waiting for us in the new heavens and new earth! The things we long and strive for—health, wholeness, longevity—will be ours because we will once again have access to the tree of life. We will experience the complete healing of our minds, hearts, and bodies—no more depression, disease, anxiety, arthritis, cavities, congestive heart failure, sinus infections, strokes, migraines, or any of the myriad things that plague us.

But how will we have access to the tree of life again? The answer is so beautiful I can barely take it in. Acts 5:30 says, “The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.” God brings us back to the tree we long for by way of another tree. It was mercy that kept us from having access to the first tree of life, and mercy that takes us back to the tree again—all through the work of the tree of death. The cross was an instrument of death, but it brings us again to the tree of life. That is the paradox of the gospel—life (ours) through death (Christ’s).

You and I don’t need to seek the elusive fountain of youth. We can set our hope on heaven and know for certain that the Lord is returning us to that which we were created for: life, health, holiness, and wholeness. He will wash away every sin; he will deliver us completely from the penalty, power, and presence of sin. And then—and only then—will he give us access to the tree of life. And we will live forever.