Which Tree?

The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there He placed the man He had made. The Lord God caused to grow out of the ground every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden, as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The Lord God took man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. And The Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die."
Genesis 2:8,9;15-17

The garden of Eden sounds like a lovely place. When I see photos of the most glorious trees, laden with blossom, tall and majestic wonder at God's handiwork. I remember driving through the Dandenongs in Victoria, Australia and seeing the tallest, most perfect trees, trunks as wide as cars, with massive ferns around their trunks, I sensed the beauty of God's creation and this was not Eden. The scripture above does not do it justice: ' The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east.' This is definitely a true 'man version,' an non-artistic man version. I would love to see it through the eyes of the artist.

I wonder what the tree of life looked like? What the tree of the knowledge of good and evil looked like? 

Yesterday, on Facebook, I saw a shoe tree. In a particular outback area in Australia the locals and visitors to the area have hung shoes of all shapes and sizes from an ordinary gum tree. The people have created a novelty in their community. Yet what did the tree of the knowledge of good and evil look like? We know it bore fruit and that the fruit was appealing because Satan tempted Eve with it's fruit. (Chapter 3) perhaps, like any good temptation it was luscious, beautiful to behold and desirable.

What then did the tree of life look like? Ordinary? Steady? Consistent? I would not be surprised. Jesus was said to have not been anything attractive to look at. It was His personhood, His character, His presence that drew.

In life we must choose life over knowledge, yet again and again we are drawn to knowledge. We want to know, not trust. This was Adam and Eve's downfall, it can be ours. Our God wants us to trust Him, trust His word and fellowship Him, just as Adam and Eve did in the beginning. He is our answer, our source and supply.

In life, especially when sorely tested: when the husband leaves, when cancer comes, when business fails, we want to know what is going to happen and struggle to trust the One who holds it all together. Yet trust hold the key to life. Amen!

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