“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” (Genesis 2:9).
The two trees represent two different ways of life. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is familiar to us. Our forebears ate from it. And so do we. This tree is about good and evil, right and wrong. Often it is about us being right and others being wrong. It is a tree focused on self-effort. It has to do with law, with crime and punishment, with pride in ourselves and self-justification.
We see the fruit of this tree in the sense of morality that prevails – when people consider themselves hard done by or unfairly treated, a sense of injustice or outrage bubbles up from within. We assess the world by good or evil, and when we see evil happen to us we want to cry out ‘this is wrong’. Even atheists or agnostics who claim there is no meaning or purpose behind our existence, can loudly protest at these times. All humanity is cut from the same cloth.
As one writer puts it, this tree “drives us either to corruption or self-righteousness, both of which lead to death”. The world is full of many and varied expressions of these.
The second tree is the tree of life. The tree of life stands for Jesus Christ. It is the tree of grace and of relationship. It is the tree of promise and permanence. The leaves of this tree, according to Revelation, are for the healing of the nations (Rev 22:2). Partaking from this tree results in a different spirit – it restores and makes whole, it allows for mercy and forgiveness, it makes space for love, for sacrifice, for covenant, for truth. It is a tree which produces beauty and unity from incredible diversity, which is the church. It is a tree from which people bloom and prosper.
Jesus said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to father but by me” (John 14:6). Jesus is the tree of life. Life is not found from the knowledge of good and evil. The fruit of that tree is a poison that leads to death. In Jesus Christ there is truth and there is life.
Some people think all paths are the same, all philosophies or religions drink from the same stream. That is deception. The two trees remind of us of two pathways, two destinies, and two legacies between which we must choose. God has now made it possible for us to partake from the tree of life. May we imbibe deeply from the tree of life, Jesus Christ, that healing for ourselves and for the nations may be the fruit.