And the LORD God said,
Behold, the man is become as one of us,
to know good and evil:
and now, lest he put forth his hand,
and take also of the tree of life,
and eat,
and live for ever:
Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden,
to till the ground from whence he was taken. Genesis 3:22-23 KJV
The figs that were the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil had been forbidden to the human couple but they were not prohibited or physically restrained from touching or tasting them. The restraint was relational, established upon the conditions of authority and responsibility. The serpent/devil (Revelation 20:2) persuaded the innocent minded woman that she was exempt from the direct command of God ('Surely YOU will not die...' verse 4) and she and Adam set the course of human destiny in a new and fatal direction when they ate the new fruit.
The Tree of Life that stood next to the fig tree was a different story. Apparently its fruit was not forbidden. However, the new condition that the couple had ingested into themselves might tempt them to grab for the fruit of life that would counteract the death within them. The Lord could not trust them with the relational restraint of authority and removed them from the Garden property, denying them access to the tree and its virtues.
Another garden and another encounter with the Lord is outlined for us in John 20:11-17. Mary Magdalene is forbidden to touch Jesus after the resurrection. Having been processed as the fulfillment of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil by His death on the cross, the resurrected Jesus is now the Tree of Life. As such, He must forbid Mary from touching Him and partaking of the resurrection virtue springing forth from Him. Apparently humans cannot be directly processed through resurrection without first being processed through the cross (Hebrews 9:27).
The Tree of Life returns to a place of prominence in the lives of humans after God makes all things new (Revelation 22:2 and 14). Until then, we are under orders to lift up Jesus. There is no other tree for us to resort in this duty than to the Cross of Calvary. The promise of Jesus is that He will draw all men to Him as we lift Him up and demonstrate the glory of the cross: Love's megaphone.
Come to Jesus.
Come to the Cross.
Behold, the man is become as one of us,
to know good and evil:
and now, lest he put forth his hand,
and take also of the tree of life,
and eat,
and live for ever:
Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden,
to till the ground from whence he was taken. Genesis 3:22-23 KJV
The figs that were the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil had been forbidden to the human couple but they were not prohibited or physically restrained from touching or tasting them. The restraint was relational, established upon the conditions of authority and responsibility. The serpent/devil (Revelation 20:2) persuaded the innocent minded woman that she was exempt from the direct command of God ('Surely YOU will not die...' verse 4) and she and Adam set the course of human destiny in a new and fatal direction when they ate the new fruit.
The Tree of Life that stood next to the fig tree was a different story. Apparently its fruit was not forbidden. However, the new condition that the couple had ingested into themselves might tempt them to grab for the fruit of life that would counteract the death within them. The Lord could not trust them with the relational restraint of authority and removed them from the Garden property, denying them access to the tree and its virtues.
Another garden and another encounter with the Lord is outlined for us in John 20:11-17. Mary Magdalene is forbidden to touch Jesus after the resurrection. Having been processed as the fulfillment of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil by His death on the cross, the resurrected Jesus is now the Tree of Life. As such, He must forbid Mary from touching Him and partaking of the resurrection virtue springing forth from Him. Apparently humans cannot be directly processed through resurrection without first being processed through the cross (Hebrews 9:27).
The Tree of Life returns to a place of prominence in the lives of humans after God makes all things new (Revelation 22:2 and 14). Until then, we are under orders to lift up Jesus. There is no other tree for us to resort in this duty than to the Cross of Calvary. The promise of Jesus is that He will draw all men to Him as we lift Him up and demonstrate the glory of the cross: Love's megaphone.
Come to Jesus.
Come to the Cross.
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