Which Tree are you Eating from?
Robert Rajamani
In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had two options to live by. Living by feeding on the Tree of Life or living by feeding on the Tree of knowledge of everything (good and evil). Tree of Life represented your close relationship with God and living by that relationship. Living by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Living by His Spirit which is true Life. Tree of knowledge of everything represented living by Adam’s ability to know everything and living by that knowledge. It is a never-ending pursuit of knowledge. No matter how much you know, there is still more to know and you never come to a point of knowing everything. The irony is even if you know everything there is to be known, you still do not have Life. True Life is not obtained by pursuing knowledge, but by feeding from the Tree of Life, by being in union with the Father.
Deuteronomy 8:3 says, God humbled the Israelites in the wilderness by causing them to hunger and feeding them with manna supernaturally. It says, He did that because He wanted to teach them that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. He was teaching them that they don’t have to live just by their knowledge to survive. Surviving by toiling and knowing how things work. He was showing how they can live true life by Trusting in Him and feeding from His heavenly manna which is the Tree of Life. He was disciplining them to learn to live by feeding from the Tree of Life – the heavenly manna which is Himself.
Jesus said, I am the true manna from God which came down from heaven and gives life to the world (John 6:33,35) and whoever comes to me will never go hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (v. 35).
At the well talking to the Samaritan women Jesus talked about two sources to be fed from, He said, referring to the physical well that everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but he who drinks from the water that I give will never be thirsty again. The physical well is human toil, effort and knowledge and depending on it to survive will never quench our thirst or truly feed us. Feeding from the water that Jesus was referring to is real food and you will never thirst again.
When Jesus was tempted by Satan during His forty day fast, He refused to depend on physical bread to survive, rather He said, I choose to live by every Word that comes from the mouth of my God. Jesus chose something which Adam refused to choose. Jesus chose to live by hearing from God alone and not depend on human effort to survive. Adam chose something other than to live by being in union with God and hearing from Him. Adam chose to live by the Tree of knowledge, but Jesus chose to live by the Tree of Life.
Today in our walk with God, what are we choosing to feed from. Are we just feeding from the knowledge of how to live life and endlessly pursuing it with the hope of attaining life by knowing more? True Life is not attained by feeding on the Tree of knowledge of good and evil, it is received only by feeding from the Tree of Life; by walking in union with God. Let us pursue to walk in oneness with Him. Jesus said, “I am the Resurrection and Life” (John 11:25), apart from Him we are just a withering branch which will eventually be taken over by death, but by being in union with Him we have Life – Eternal Life.
Let us decide to stay away from the lure of feeding from the Tree of knowledge of good and evil and feed from the Tree of Life and make that our highest priority. Nothing is more important and purposeful than walking in union with God. As we feed on Him, we will live because He lives in us!
Scripture Reference:
• Deuteronomy 8:3
• John 6:33,35
• John 11:25
• John 4:1-26
• Matthew 4:1-11