In the middle of the Garden of Eden were two trees. There was “the tree of life” by which Adam and Eve could participate in the divine life and live forever with him. But beside that was the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. This tree signified autonomy, that is, the decision to play God and decide what is right for oneself (Deuteronomy 12:8, Judges 17:6, 21:25). The question we might well ask is this: If God didn’t want them to eat from this second tree, why put it in the middle of the garden beside the tree of life? Or why not even put a big fence around it? The answer has to do with a key difference between humans and the rest of creation. All other things automatically became what God commanded them to be, as we see in Genesis 1. But God created humans in his image, sharing his unique relational capacities, because he wanted a personal relationship with them. But a personal relationship, to be genuine, mut be chosen. The two trees then act in a kind of sacramental sense (like baptism and the eucharist). They were physical things by which crucial spiritual choices were enacted. Tragically Adam and Eve chose autonomy over faith in God. As a result, they and everyone after them, should have been eternally lost. But, through Christ, God has given us the opportunity to remake this choice. When Moses says “choose life” to Israel in Deuteronomy 30:19 we should read this, not as a threat, but as a renewed opportunity given by grace to participate in the divine life. Jesus gives you that choice.
Commit yourself to Christ and ask him to form you into his image.
Read Genesis 2:8-17, Deuteronomy 30:11-20 and Joshua 24:14-15
