The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”
Genesis 2:9,15-17 NLT
Have you ever thought about the trees mentioned in the Bible? Since the novel I’m working on revolves around the Fruit of the Spirit, I thought it would be interesting to look at the symbolism of trees mentioned in scripture.
When I think about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, I think about the cost of free-will. All the trees in the garden were placed under the care of man, all of the trees produced delicious fruit, but only two trees held eternal consequences, the tree of life (life) and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (death).
So why did God put that tree in the garden in the first place? He knew the choice Adam and Eve would make. He tried to warn them, wanting them to know only good things. I believe it was because love should be a choice.
We are destined to know both good and evil in this world, but because of God’s choice to give us free-will and love us through our poor decisions, he made a way for us to return to him. Today we commemorate Jesus crucifixion. Jesus paid with his death, the cost of our choice to know both good and evil, enabling us to choose life once again.
Grace & Peace,
Sandy
The Far Reaches of Grace 