The Tree of Life

In the Garden of Eden there were many trees. All those that were beautiful and those that were purposeful for eating. There were also two special trees. The Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God speaks about the Tree of Knowledge and He tells Adam and Eve not to eat of it, because if they do they shall surely die. After they eat of this tree they receive the knowledge of good and evil and are kicked out of the Garden. They are kicked out of the garden because they are no longer in perfect communion with God, there is a separation. And if they stay in the garden then they can continue to eat from the Tree of Life. It makes sense that if the Tree of Knowledge had fruit that provided knowledge then the Tree of Life had fruit that provided life, and God promised them death as their consequence for eating of the Tree of Knowledge.

Death ascended onto Earth the day humanity received the knowledge of good and evil. Death is sin, which is separation from God. Humanity is not bodies that have souls but souls that have bodies. The body was never meant to live eternally, but the soul was and it was created to live eternally in communion with God. The day death entered the earth there was a separation of human souls from God, that could only be corrected with a blood sacrifice. The only way to commune with God was by first atoning for your sins with a perfect blood sacrifice. But there was still no eternal communion because none of these sacrifices were perfect enough for eternity, therefore they had to be repeated each and every time you wished to commune with God. The most perfect earthly lamb's blood was not enough to conquer death.

Until the day Grace entered the world. God offered the sacrifice of Heaven's perfect lamb on a tree outside of Jerusalem. The cross became the new Tree of Life offered back to humanity so they could re-enter the Garden where their souls could be in communion with God, the way it was originally intended.

Humanity does not deserve to eat from the Tree of Life. We've proven this over and over, you can read many stories about it in the Bible, but also we fail each day to live in a way that earns the fruit from this tree. We can't earn this fruit, the Tree of Life always has been and always will be something given to humanity by our creator. At first it was in the garden where Adam and Eve took for granted its fruit and now it stand in the form of a cross where Christ's blood was shed and Grace flows freely. We still find ourselves taking this gift for granted and it is offered today as openly and freely as if we were standing in the garden with Adam and Eve. We will never be good enough or devout enough to eat from this tree. We will consistently choose the knowledge of good and evil over life, but if we can come to the cross and humble ourselves before God, and accept that Christ is our Savior and it is what He has done not what we have done that saves us, the gift of life is ours. We partake in communion in our church services as a reminder of this act of grace from Christ when He invited us into eternal perfect communion with God through His blood.

Today look to the Tree of Life not the Tree of Knowledge for your sustenance, for from it flows the Gift of Grace and Life eternal!