“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” (Genesis 3:6 NIV)
There were 2 trees in the Garden of Eden. The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve and then Adam chose to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Because of this choice and the resulting sin and brokenness that this introduced into the earth, God had to remove their ability to eat of the tree of life and live forever in a broken state.
It is interesting that the tree they chose was the tree of knowledge of both good and evil. It is not just the knowledge of evil. It is this tree that causes mankind to constantly try to play the role of judge. Being a judge of others, a judge of ourselves, even a judge towards God. Trusting in our own judgements about what is good and evil rather than trusting on God’s instructions.
As mankind sets themselves up to play the role of judge, relationships are damaged, austere religions are formed, and critical hearts thrive. Living this way never produces the life that it seems to promise. Living from a place of law and our own determination of good and evil never works to produce the life that we think it will. No amount of knowledge of good or evil can bring us into the life and freedom that God has created us to live in. It is only in the surrender of our will, to God’s will and God’s ways that we get to experience true life.
Many Christians live their life from the perspective of what is “right and wrong” instead of what is life-giving. Living our lives from a place of the knowledge of good and evil causes us to live a performance based life. Living out of duty rather than living in God’s delight. Living from a place of performance is living our lives from the wrong tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We are called to live in the pleasure and delight of God’s life.
There are still two trees that influence the way that we perceive and interact in our lives. Which tree will you live from today? The Tree of Life is living in active participation with the Holy Spirit, aiming to experience God’s pleasure, surrendering our will to His direction in a responsiveness to Jesus instructions. The tree of knowledge of good and evil is living from a place of judging what is right and wrong from our own perspective, living a life of fulfilling duty, and living in performance for God, rather than connection with Him.
“Dear Jesus, today I surrender my will to live in the Your delight rather than duty. I exist to fulfill Your will not my own. I reject my own judgements of others, myself and repent of times where I judged You for things I thought You should cause to happen. Today I relinquish my right to determine good and evil and place my trust in what You say. In Your Name, Amen”
