Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

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.

• Revelation 22:1-5

“Out of the tree of life I just picked me a plum
You came along and everything started to hum
Still, it’s a real good bet, the best is yet to come

[Chorus]
Best is yet to come and babe, won’t that be fine?
You think you’ve seen the sun, but you ain’t seen it shine

[Pre-Chorus]
A-Wait till the warm-up’s underway
Wait till our lips have met
And wait till you see that sunshine day
You ain’t seen nothin’ yet

[Chorus]
The best is yet to come and babe, won’t it be fine?
Best is yet to come, come the day you’re mine

[Verse 2]
Come the day you’re mine
I’m gonna teach you to fly
We’ve only tasted the wine
We’re gonna drain the cup dry

[Bridge]
Wait till your charms are right for these arms to surround
You think you’ve flown before, but baby, you ain’t left the ground

[Pre-Chorus]
A-Wait till you’re locked in my embrace
Wait till I draw you near
A-Wait till you see that sunshine place
Ain’t nothin’ like it here

[Chorus]
The best is yet to come and babe, won’t it be fine?
The best is yet to come, come the day you’re mine

[Outro]
Come the day you’re mine
And you’re gonna be mine”

• Carolyn Leigh, The Best is Yet to Come

This song was written for Tony Bennett, but when Frank Sinatra collaborated with Count Basie, it became a big hit.

But, having heard it countless times in my life, I saw that first line and the title and I was thinking of my first day in Heaven.  That makes the line about “wait till our lips have met” a little creepy.  But once Jesus has locked me in His embrace, I do not know if I could ever let go.

So, changing a couple of lines and finding a word to replace “babe” and this might be a very good worship song.

It starts with the tree of life.  Revelation 22 talks about the new Eden.  There will be a Tree of Life that will be prominent in heaven.  And the description that John gives is very interesting.

First, the river of the water of life.  The water flows from the throne of God.  Thus, the water flows endlessly, and its source is God Himself.  Being a former expert in fluid dynamics, this is amazing to me.  We need to apply pressure in some kind of way, but God simply defies that and keeps the water flowing.

Second, there is one Tree of Life, but it is on each side of the river.  In thinking of this, where are the roots?  Is there a gap in the tree roots for the river water to flow?  But the river bears fruit each month.  There is no longer the need for different seasons.  We already know from the previous chapter that there is no sun or moon for God’s presence provides the light.  Will we need the heat from the sun?  Whether we need the heat or not, God will provide what we need.

And with all that boggling our minds…

The best is yet to come.

Whatever we can dream of how glorious Heaven is, we can never out dream God.

The best is yet to come, come the day we get there.  The song may say “come the day you are mine” but that could easily mean once our sin nature is gone and we are completely healed, that Tree of Life provides healing.  Rev. MacArthur speaks of the root word in Greek is where we get therapeutic.

So, once our sin nature is gone, and we are truly healed.  Once Jesus can say that we are all His, that is good enough, but…

The best is still yet to come.

Here are Tony Bennett and Diana Krall singing The Best is Yet to Come.

And the best is better than we could ever imagine.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.