In the garden of Eden there are two trees that stand out in the midst of all the other trees, two trees that have special significance: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the tree of life. Our college group has been doing a study on these trees and their significance throughout scripture. I want to share some of the things I have been learning through this study and how they have impacted my relationship with God and helped me to more fully appreciate the beauty of his Word.
One fascinating thing I have learned during this study is that the first three chapters of Genesis (1-3) and the last three chapters of Revelation (20-22) mirror each other in many ways, to form what many scholars refer to as “bookends”. One of the ways these chapters mirror each other is with the presence of the tree of life (Gen. 2:9, Rev. 22:2). This absolutely blew my mind when first learning about this, and as I continued to ponder this concept of “bookends” it served to deepen my respect and admiration for God and His Word. For in this, you see the structure and order of our God displayed, that He has a plan that is being played out from before the beginning of time and is constantly working all things in accordance with that plan. You also come to appreciate the masterpiece of His written Word, gaining new depths of the literary genius of how He formed His word through different human authors over the course of several thousand years.
Another thing I have been learning through this study is the relationship between this tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree of life in many ways represents the presence of God, and in a way seems to symbolize that only through close proximity with the tree are we able to experience life everlasting. You see we all have to actively take and eat from that tree in order to experience the abundant life God has for us, and that can only happen by staying within close proximity to it (this symbolism has many layers to it when you ponder it long enough). But next to this life-giving tree stands another tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that seems to represent a choice that each of us must make in order to experience the abundant life offered to us by God. This choice is whether to trust God and his source of life and all that this entails (including His order and structure of how He designed his creation to operate), or to seize control of these things for ourselves.
I believe this choice lies before every single one of us. Reading through the stories in Scripture from this perspective you see that this choice lies before each character in scripture, starting with Adam and Eve (Gen 3:1-7), and continuing with Cain (Gen 4:7), and continuing on and on with each descendant of Adam. Will we choose to trust God and His order and structure of the world that produces eternal life within us, or will we seize control of life for ourselves, seeking out our own version of knowledge about what is good and what is evil? Unfortunately, history is not on our side, as we see record of individual after individual fail at this same choice over and over again. Every single descendant of Adam has failed to make the right choice. Every single descendant of Adam, that is, until a man named Jesus was born to this earth and consistently, to the point of perfection, chose God’s way over his own way over and over again. And He invites us to eat from His flesh and drink from His blood in order to experience eternal life (John 6:54), much like the tree of life invites us to eat and drink from its fruit in order to experience eternal life. It is only by abiding in Christ, by staying in close proximity to that source of life, that we have the ability to choose God’s way over our own way. What choice will we make?
In Christ Alone,
Caleb Hecox