by Joan Vetter

"And God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good."

Then...God created man.

Then…God gave man his first command. God said man could eat of every tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

Then…the serpent (the devil) seduced, and man fell.

So, right out of the starting gate, man rebelled. As it was then, there is still an attraction to that which is forbidden …unless you have a different mindset. 

Adam and Eve could freely eat from the tree of life, but that forbidden tree held an allure. 

Why?

Perhaps it is because their focus was on what they didn't have - what was being withheld from them. Today, every day, we have a choice. Do we think about all that we don't have until it becomes magnified in our minds? Or do we choose to think about the Kingdom of God and the life (the tree of life) that God promises us when we choose life? 

God's Word declares in Deut. 30:15 that, "I have set before you today life and good, death and evil." Then He asks us to choose life that both we and our descendants may live. Well, of course, you say, we already have life. Think about what God means when He uses the Word life. We can choose death and still be walking on this earth. 

Some people feel that following the Ten Commandments is obedience to God's commands, but there is more.

Jesus came to show us that just following the law is not enough. In fact, He boldly tells his disciples (and us) that he who has seen Him has seen the Father.

So how do we see Jesus now? After all He walked the earth a long time ago. 
We see Him in scripture; healing the sick, touching the leper, forgiving the woman caught in adultery, rebuking the religious, but enjoying children. 
We see Him in the Spirit, as the Holy Spirit teaches us that He is still alive and exists in an unseen realm.

The Garden of Eden is a precedent for us today. We also have the same choice Adam and Eve were offered. Will we pass that test?

Will we think of ourselves as righteous because we look at that which is good or that which is evil and make our choices? Or will we look at the astonishing claim Jesus made - that no one is good except the Father? Thereby introducing us to awareness that man at his best can never hit the high mark of God's perfection. Jesus is our example, but more than that - He lives within those who have made Him their Lord to enable them to accept His grace and forgiveness when they have missed the mark.

Today the Tree of Life is also within reach. Will we choose it? 
The tree is called "wisdom"!

Happy is the man 
who finds wisdom,
And the man 
who gains understanding; 
For her proceeds are better 
than the profits of silver,
And her gain than fine gold.
She is more precious 
than rubies,
And all the things 
you may desire 
cannot compare with her.
Length of days 
is in her right hand, 
In her left hand 
riches and honor.
Her ways are ways 
of pleasantness,
And all her paths are peace.
She is a TREE OF LIFE to those who take hold of her,
And happy are all 
who retain her.

Proverbs 3:13-18