The Two Trees

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)