A heavenly man showed Ezekiel the gateways of the inner court for the temple, and one thing that caught my attention were the palm trees,

Then he brought me to the inner court through the southern gateway; he measured the southern gateway according to these same measurements. Also its gate chambers, its gateposts, and its archways were according to these same measurements; there were windows in it and in its archways all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. There were archways all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide. Its archways faced the outer court, palm trees were on its gateposts, and going up to it were eight steps (Ezekiel 40.28–31).

Although palm trees can grow where I live in Grants Pass, Oregon, they did not get here by themselves; someone planted them. They are not native to this area. Apparently they can withstand cool temperatures, because in the winter it can get down into the 20s or the teens Fahrenheit.

Palm trees typically grow in warm places, and especially places close to the ocean, where life almost always seems to be slower and inviting. That is the picture that I have of the church and of heaven, a place that is inviting and where people are accepting. What is your vision of the church?