TALE OF TWO TREES

Two Trees

The "Fruit" of the
Tree of Life

Time with Jesus - 28 Aug 2013

Hi all,

In 1952, at school in Marist Brothers, Bird Street, I made friends with someone I shall refer to as “Peter”. He lived just round the corner from us, with his mother in a hotel room in Havelock Street, near the corner with Rink Street. St Georges Park was nearby.

St Georges Swimming Pool

There is an Olympic size swimming pool in the park. That’s where many of the school boys and girls who lived nearby spent the warm and pleasant afternoons, particularly in the summer.

Although he was only ten years old, Peter had learned to dive. His “speciality” was from the 3 metre diving board. It was a forward 1½ turn, summersault, pike position. He made it look so easy. My attempt was a disaster, best described as a “belly-flop” which left me “gasping for breath” in the water. It was the sort of result that most of us don’t want to repeat.

Belly Flop

Mom and Dad didn’t like Peter. They said he was a bad influence on me. They didn’t really interfere other than hinting they would prefer me not to associate with him. On reflection, I suppose they were right. The reason was because we decided to play truant one day.

Peter’s mom went to work. We met and went to his hotel where we planned to spend our school hours hiding from the rest of the world. There weren’t many places we could go anyway. To wander round the street in school uniform during school hours would have been a recipe for disaster! So we stayed in the hotel garden. 

Loquat Tree

There, we spotted a loquat tree full of ripe loquats. Personally, I’ve never been fond of loquats. However, because we were “in hiding”, we loaded a couple of paper bags with the fruit which we had every intention of eating. On closer examination we realised they were inedible – too many worms and other creepy crawlies. Even so, we ate a couple of them and ended up feeling nauseous.

Adam, Where are You!

There were repercussions. How do you tell your parents you’ve been playing truant? The evidence was there on my report card at the end of term. As far as they were concerned, I’d been at school every day. So why did my report card show that I was absent on one occasion? “Where were you that day?” I remember them asking.  It was a fair cop. Mom and dad took me out of the school at the end of the year and sent me to another. We had relocated and the new school was much nearer.

Give it a Try
You won't die

My experience of playing truant and eating loquats is not grossly different to that of Adam in the garden. My parents question, “Where were you that day?” is not grossly different from, “Adam, where are you?” Loquats are not exactly the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But we shouldn’t have eaten them anyway. For a couple of 10 year old boys, playing truant from school was not good. It was evil and is sin. If you add to that a penalty of eating unsuitable fruit from a loquat tree, the fall of man picture becomes a bit clearer. In a way I was “banished from the garden” and went to live elsewhere. Sure, for me it only meant going to a nicer house and a different school. Perhaps our experience was only the “shadow” of what took place in Eden.

A Snake in the Grass

From that day to this, I’ve not seen Peter. I can’t say he was a serpent, a “snake in the grass”. What I can say is that playing truant that day, was like trying to do a forward, 1½ turn, summersault, pike position and succeeding in nothing more than a belly flop.

Did I learn a lesson? Not to the same extent as Adam. I didn’t “die” that day. That took place sometime earlier and elsewhere. But I did learn that if I transgressed my parents’ clear instructions and example, it would be the worse for me. That day is more than 60 years ago. 

Much to my regret, my parents have both passed away. I only wish I still had an opportunity to tell them all about what really happened. Somehow, I think they know all about it anyway.

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – 28 Aug 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes					©
	INTRODUCTION		DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	TALE OF TWO TREES
Over the past ± 55 years I’ve come across two types of people. One believes in God. The other doesn’t. The believers may be classified in many different ways. Usually we talk about Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Jews and Christians. These comprise the vast majority of believers. Among those who include themselves among the Christians, there is a huge variety of different persuasions. A comparatively small minority of these are born again, Bible believing, Christians. Phyllida and I include ourselves among their ranks. We believe the Bible is inerrant and totally trustworthy. We may not have all the answers to everything. But if it comes to a matter of opinion, we choose Biblical truth over and above the opinion of even the most erudite professor of any university. This means we believe the story about Adam, Eve and the fall of man. We feel no need to justify our position. If God’s Word states it, we are convinced it is true. Stubborn? Yes. Objectionable? Where necessary! Pig Headed? Absolutely, provided it is Kosher! We haven’t yet come across anything to contradict this Scripture. Many have tried and failed. We have a phrase we apply to every challenge. “I believe” If people say, “You are stupid!” we reply, “I believe!” Today’s Scriptures focus on trees and eternal life. There is a clear connection between the two. No doubt there was a great variety of trees in the garden. Two are referred to specifically. One was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God forbade Adam from eating the fruit of this tree. The other was the tree of life. Presumably a diet of this fruit would give mankind immortality. In other words, provided man fed regularly on this fruit he would continue to live. How this all worked is the million dollar question. What we know is that from the day Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, apparently it has not been found. This “tree” appears in various parts of Scripture. There is a sense in which Jesus Christ is the tree of life. Certainly all life comes from God and is at the behest of His Son Jesus. John’s Gospel makes this claim unreservedly. 6 Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me. John 14:6 NLT Precisely how this fits together is not known. What we do know is that when He was crucified and nailed to the “tree”. In some mysterious way He became the “fruit” of that tree! To find life we need to be in Him. So we must be crucified with Christ Galatians 2:20 NLT. Then we too are integral with the “Fruit” of the tree of life. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			9 The LORD God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground--trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden He placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:9 NLT	The Lord planted a garden. We do not know the size. But this we know for certain. It was perfect in His eyes. Sin had not yet touched them, so plants would never die. They kept on stretching upwards, till they nearly reached the sky. After God made Adam, he got a job of work. He took care of the garden. No need to go to kirk! There really was no reason. They chatted every day. In the cool of the evening, they talked and talked away. Adam tended Eden. I’m not sure what that means. Flowers, peas and parsnips; and even runner beans? His home was in a forest of yellowwood and pines. Acacia, and willow with interwoven vines. And there within those confines, our man was free to rove. Along with fruit and nut trees all dotted round the grove. Two trees were also in it. One was the tree of life. The other would bring knowledge of sickness, death and strife. How long that Adam stayed there, the Bible doesn’t say. Which isn’t so surprising; it’s not needed anyway. We know about the story, of the way God gave him Eve. We know about the serpent, who intended to deceive. We know about that which we are unable to refute! That Adam was persuaded and he ate forbidden fruit. An apple or an orange; we all have had a guess? But after he had eaten it, the world was in a mess. The garden was in chaos; plants withered up and died. The orchard was invaded by plant disease and flies. They saw that they were naked; their righteousness had gone. And so they sewed up fig leaves for clothes they could put on. The forest was affected in ways we do not know. Except we think that trees became quite difficult to grow. And when the Lord confronted them, about this dreadful mess, They knew He hadn’t come to them, to comfort and to bless. Now they had the knowledge of things evil and things good. Their banishment from Eden, they quickly understood. And every day thereafter, man’s tried to find the tree, They believe will give them all, their immortality. Jim Strickland Written 28th August 2102
			11 This is the testimony in essence: God gave us eternal life; the life is in his Son. 1 John 5:11 MSG
			16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 ESV
			21 For just as the Father gives life to those He raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone He wants. John 5:21 NLT
			26 The Father has life in Himself, and He has granted that same life-giving power to His Son. John 5:26 NLT
			7 He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Revelation 2:7 NIV
			2 The river flowed down the middle of the city's main street. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing 12 crops of fruit. Its fruit was ripe every month. The leaves of the tree bring healing to the nations. Revelation 22:2 NIrV
			13 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom. Blessed is the one who gains understanding 16 Long life is in her right hand. In her left hand are riches and honour. 17 Her ways are pleasant ways. All her paths lead to peace. 18 She is a tree of life to those who hold her close. Those who hold on to her will be blessed. Proverbs 3:13, 16 & 18 NIrV
			30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 1 Corinthians 1:30 TNIV