Tree of Life

Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

                                                                     Genesis 2:8-9, 15-17 NIV

There you have it! God planted trees in the garden so that the first people would have food to eat that they might be nourished and live. In the middle of this garden he planted both the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. One tree brings life and the other, the one that ensures knowledge of good and evil, brings death. He warned Adam and Eve not to eat from that latter or they would surely die. What would you do? Would you eat from the tree of life or from the tree that makes you like a god to know good from evil? Adam and Eve ate from the tree that they were told not to eat from; but, apparently neglected to eat from the tree of life which they were allowed to eat from.

After Adam and Eve ate from the tree that brings death, God kicked them out of Eden so that they could not eat from the tree that brings life. The gate to paradise was closed and fierce looking cherubim were set there to guard paradise. The good news, the awesome news, is that when Jesus died on the cross, the gates were flung wide open for all who would believe in him. We have access to the Kingdom of God! We have access to the tree of life! Will we eat the fruit of the tree that brings life? 

Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) He is life. He is our only way to eternal life. We can enter the Kingdom of God into our Father's eternal presence only through him.

Jesus also said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” (John 6:53-58)

Jesus is our tree of life. Would we turn up our noses at the food that Jesus provides and partake of those things which will only bring us death? I pray not.

God's Peace - Pr. J