As a student of the written Word, I cherish the moments I
hear the Living Word in my mind. Recently as I was sharing with a counselee,
God illuminated more clearly for me the two trees in the garden of Eden – the
tree of life and tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Most of my life I have
seen those trees as, well . . . trees! Every detail in the Bible is there for a
purpose, even those trees.
When I remind folks there were two trees in the garden of
Eden, everyone remembers the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but they
forget about the tree of life. Even though those trees were real, they were
also symbolic of two distinct systems of “living.”
Before I explain the two systems, let me remind us that God
created us as beings who can choose. We usually call it “free will.” When Adam
and Eve were first created they made choices every day, but their choices did
not lead to life. In other words, their choices did not determine whether they
would be fulfilled thereby feeling worthwhile. Because they were full of God’s
life, all of their needs were met. Having all their needs met, they felt
worthwhile. That means that every choice they made came out of a life that was
already fulfilled.
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is eternal death.
When Adam and Eve ate from its fruit (one time), they spiritually died and all
of their offspring (all of humanity) died before their offspring had a chance
to live. This tree possessed the power to give eternal death!
This tree of death represents a broken system of living. In
this broken system choices are made in an attempt to get life, that is, to find
fulfillment and satisfaction. Because this system is broken, there are no
choices that can be made in the flesh that will lead to life.
The tree of life represented eternal life. According to
Genesis 3:22 the tree itself possessed the power to give eternal life. As a
system of living, this tree represents living out of an eternal source of life.
That is, life is not generated from the creature making choices, but life comes
from the eternal source within the creature. Does this sound familiar?
These two systems can be illustrated by two different kinds
of restaurants. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is like going to a
sit-down restaurant when you are extremely hungry and your funds are very
limited. The waiter comes and gives you a menu. As you study the menu, you look
at all the items and their prices and you try to decide what item or items are
going to fulfill you and give you satisfaction. There is a lot of weight on
your choice. That choice ultimately has to bring you fulfillment. Even after
you finally decide and place your order, you sit there and wander if you made
the right decision. Oh the futility! This is what happens when we try to gain
satisfaction and fulfillment from our choices.
The tree of life can be compared to going to a buffet restaurant
when you are not starving, but you just simply want to eat and enjoy food. When
you go to a buffet you can eat as much or as little as you want. You can choose
anything being served. This analogy even works better if you go to the buffet
without any concern for calories! Pretend like there is no such thing as weight
gain and heart disease. The point is, you can enjoy your choices simply because
you are already fulfilled.
Jesus is eternal life. He did the work of the cross so that
He could be an eternal source of life in us. That means we can now make choices
because we are alive. Our choices do not give us life, but reflect that we are
alive. Out of Christ’s life in us we have the privilege of making choices daily
simply because we are free.
"So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”
(John 8:36)
