"The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." (Gen 2:8-9).

When God created the old creation (the world) He planted a garden, put everything that man would ever need in it, made it pleasant and pleasurable for man and then put the man that He had formed in the garden, therefore the man found rest in the garden.

This Genesis story is just a shadow of what would happen when Christ comes. Now God brought out the new creation (Christ) and in him He planted a garden that is pleasant and pleasurable, having everything that His masterpiece would ever need. Then God form a new creation (2Cor 5:17) and He put this new creation in the garden so that he can find rest in the garden.

"For we who have believed do enter that rest,... For he who has once entered [God's] rest also has ceased from [the weariness and pain] of human labors, just as God rested from those labors peculiarly His own." (Heb 4:3,10).
But there is something else about the garden that we shouldn't ignore, for in it lies the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Yes, in the Church you would find life and you also find a system that embodies that which should be termed good and acceptable, and that which should be unacceptable and evil. We find a system of believe, a doctrine and a long list of don't and do, rules and regulations. And the sad truth is that many patronize this tree; they want to have knowledge instead of life. Oh how they desire to know the Bible, to know every story in it and quote many verses correctly.

They are so interested in gathering knowledge, theologies and formulate doctrines, constructing the correct method of practicing Christianity and living holy. They only know how to live by the knowledge of good and evil that they have acquired, they don't know how to live by the Life and they seek to teach others about this lifeless and inferior way of living.

Oh with pride they build schools that would impact God's people with more and more knowledge, build churches that would guild people on the right doctrine and method, thinking they are doing God a service. But this has cause Life to be missing among God's people, the people of God are in bad shape, such deadness, such carnality. Yet look, and see how many believers pratronizes this tree, yes multitude and multitude of God's people gathered around it and rushing the fruit like wild animals.

But only a remnant - very very few, find there way to the tree of life. This few have reject what the other tree has to offer, they do not care to know the right doctrine or the correct method of practical Christianity. Neither do they care about filling their head with Biblical knowledge and indulging themselves in frequent Bible study, discussion and argument.

All they want to know is Christ because he is their life. They want to feed on him, talk about him, explore him, share him, live by him and dive into the depth of him. Oh! how scanty are the few who patronizes the tree of life, who are learning to trust in life rather than knowledge, who had place Christ far above every doctrine, theology, and even far far above the Bible itself because that is were Christ belong.

true talk......

Let us turn our back on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and let us pursue the tree of life.

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