Word of the Week - Tree of Life

“He who has an ear, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God” Rev 2:7

The Story from Genesis – Among all the tree in the Garden of Eden, God identified two special trees: of life, and the knowledge of good in evil. “And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.  The Tree of Life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil”.  Genesis 2:9  God allowed Adam and Eve to eat from all the trees except the tree of knowledge of good and evil, warning them that death would result.  “The Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” Genesis 2:16-17 After being tempted by the serpent, Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in disobedience to God.  “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.  Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.  And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” Genesis 3:7 After eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – in part to become “wise” Adam now possessed the knowledge of good and evil like God does, as well as the knowledge of their nakedness.

Living from the Tree of Life vs. Knowledge of Good and Evil – We have this same decision today except with the benefits of the Cross of Jesus and His amazing grace.  Do we submit our lives to the Lordship of Christ and trust God or do we go by the ways of world and trust the knowledge and wisdom of this world.  Do we live from the judgmental and condemning spirit of the law and religion trying to determine if we are good enough, or do we live from the life-giving spirit of grace and relationship with Jesus.  Are we motivated internally in response to the love of God or are we being driven by external obligations to try to be good enough.  I call it moving from the “got to” to the “get to”.  Moving from the head (knowledge) to the heart (relationship).  I have eaten from both of these trees through my life journey and can personally attest to the fact that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil brings death but the tree of life brings the life that is truly life.  For the first 33 years of my life, I was eating out of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and pursuing the things of this world (success, the approval of man, financial security, status etc.) by trying to accomplish.  The last 21 years since submitting to Jesus as my Lord through a personal relationship with Him, I have simply made God my first and greatest life priority and have truly experienced the abundant life that Jesus speaks about in the Gospel of John 10:10.  “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full (abundance)”.

Choosing the Tree of Life –  “There is a way that seems right to a man but leads to death”. Proverbs 14:12. The way of the world seems right, natural, and good - the ways of God are supernatural, spiritual and can be hard to understand in our head. How we see God is most important.  Many see God as a scary and angry force that is upset with them because they have failed at being a good Christian.  They have this false idea that we have to become a certain way to win God’s approval!  The truth is that God loves each of us as His son or daughter and there is nothing we can do to earn His love or become good enough to win Him over.  He is already in love with each of us and simply wants to be in relationship with us.  He wants to bless us and our families.  He is for us not against us.  His Word and His commandments are not to keep us from enjoying life, they are truly there to help us through life and give us what is needed to live an abundant and flourishing life no matter our circumstances.  We must simply trust God by faith (believe even though we can’t see it or prove it), submit our lives to His authority and remain connected to the vine of Christ John 15:5, so He can use us to do His good work and bear fruit through our lives.  If we are eating from the tree of life, we will develop childlike faith and innocence.  Like a child trusts his/her parents this is how we should trust God.  “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”  And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:1-3.   

Jesus is the Tree of Life – The bottom line is that Jesus came to redeem all mankind back to the Father through His death on the cross.  Jesus declares that He is the bread of life.  “Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life.  Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35 If you eat of the tree of life you will be transformed into a new creation and operate with a new paradigm.  The tree of life produces a life-giving spirit that has amazing godly characteristics of its source, which is Jesus.  It is much different than the religious spirit of the law from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Instead of guilt, shame, and condemnation it produces security, trust and conviction.  It also produces the fruit of God’s spirit which is “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Against such things there is no law”. Galatians 5:22-23.

Challenge Questions:  Are you eating from the tree of life or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (the ways of the world/culture)?  Do you see God as your loving Father and friend who wants the best for you or as a scary heavenly force who is disappointed in you?  Are you excited about sharing what God is doing in your life?  Do you feel secure in Christ?  If not, today is the day you can begin to eat from the tree of life by submitting your life the Lordship of Christ.  “Taste and See that the Lord is good, blessed are those who trust in Him” Psalm 34:8

“Do not love the world (tree of the knowledge of good and evil) or anything in the world.  If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.  For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father, but from the world.  The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” 1 John 2:15-17

Have a great week!

 -Duane