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Every time we choose our own wisdom, we are severed from the tree of life
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Read Genesis 3:1-21
To eat or not to eat? That was the question. At dinner, we always have two choices for our kids; take it or leave it. As one reads through the narrative in Genesis 1 and 2, the same question stirs within Adam and Eve. But, why did God offer the option to disobey? Why would God create a tree that Adam and Eve were never supposed to eat from and then place it in the center of the garden? Without choice, humanity would’ve been held captive by God. Adam and Eve wouldn’t have had to choose to follow him. They would have been something more like robots, created to do whatever the controlling designer manipulated them to do. God never wanted robots, he wanted love.
The promise of the tree of knowledge of good and evil was wisdom. Even God told them, “It will make you wise.” Wisdom is praised as a good thing throughout the scriptures. So, why is the wisdom this tree offers a bad thing? The wisdom of this tree was wisdom independent from God. Adam and Eve were designed – hard wired – to be in relationship with God. He was to be the source of wisdom. They were designed to walk with him, talk with him, and learn from him. In a sense, God was both their mentor and their God. The choice to eat of the tree of wisdom was to forfeit a life connected to God. When they chose to chase their own wisdom, they were severed from the source of God through the tree of life.
Every time we choose our own wisdom, we are severed from the tree of life! We live with the same choice in front of us every single day; will we choose the tree of our own wisdom and reject the wisdom of God, or will we choose the tree of life? When we choose our own wisdom, we put ourselves above God. This happens subtly when we decide that our ways are higher than his ways and our thoughts are better than his thoughts. The ‘tree of life’ looks different now. The ‘tree of life’ now looks like a wooden cross. The ‘tree of life’ looks like dying to one’s self and living with Jesus (Mark 8:34-35). When we choose that tree, that cross, we find out what it means to truly live. However, choosing the wooden cross run contrary to the wisdom of the world. As Paul so poignantly wrote, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Just like in the case of Adam and Eve, the choice is ours. We live between two trees.
Begin your day by offering this prayer of dependence to God:
I need Thee every hour, Most gracious Lord; No tender voice like Thine Can peace afford.
I need I need Thee; Every hour I need Thee; Oh, bless me now, my Savior! I come to Thee.
I need Thee every hour, Stay Thou nearby; Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh.
I need Thee every hour, In joy or pain; Come quickly and abide, Or life is vain.
I need Thee every hour, Teach me Thy will; And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.
I need Thee every hour, Most Holy One; Oh, make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.
By: Annie S. Hawks
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By Ryan Paulson
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