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Two Trees, Two Loves

Matthew Hester

Note from Doug Fortune:
This is an excerpt from my good friend, Matthew Hester's newest book entitled THE TREE OF LIFE. You can purchase it on his website at: web.mac.com/MatthewHester OR www.DominionChurch.net.

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I Kings 18:21-
..."How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him."… (NIV)

James 1:7-8-
That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. (NIV)

The two trees in the garden of Eden simply represent two opinions or choices. There is a pathway that extends both to and from each tree. The Tree of Life represents all that is good and perfect in God. The Tree of Life is Christ Himself. The Tree of the knowledge of good and evil is anything that is not the aforementioned. Today the Church at large is struggling between two opinions or trees. She is struggling between the “Christ life” and any other life that is not His. It must be understood that when relationship with the Father is relinquished, the choice has already been made for that which is against Him. We must come to God on His terms in order to experience the fullness of His life and benefits. The problem is that we have the tendency to replace relationship with God with performance for Him. God has never asked us to perform for Him. He simply wants to accomplish His will according to His terms.

The First Tree
Genesis 2:9 -
And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (NIV)

As stated earlier we see the first mention of the Tree of Life in Genesis. This tree was put there by the Father and is a symbol of His Son who is the way that mankind must follow. It is interesting that we find the Tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the same place. Both of these trees are found in the center of the garden of Eden. The center of the garden is a very important place. It is in the center of a thing that the heart is found. We see that either life or good and evil are found in the deep places of the heart.

There are several references in Scripture that refer to the Bride of Christ as a garden. This is most obviously found in the beautiful book of Song of Solomon. We see an amazing picture of the Bride of Christ in which her lover enters in order to taste of the choicest that she has to offer.

Song of Solomon 4:12 -
You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain. (NIV)

Song of Solomon 4:16 -
[ Beloved ] Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread abroad. Let my lover come into his garden and taste its choice fruits. (NIV)

Song of Solomon 5:1 -
[ Lover ] I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. [ Friends ] Eat, O friends, and drink; drink your fill, O lovers. (NIV)

We see the Bride of Christ represented here in such a gorgeous way. The garden is the place where the Lord comes and is fed according to His hearts desire. He actually comes into His garden and is satisfied. We must understand that our satisfaction is not paramount in the grand scheme of things. What we should truly be focused on is in our ability to satisfy the Lord. This satisfaction can only be met by being the garden of the Lord, not by doing something for Him.

The above mentioned garden is the corporate expression of the Body of Christ in planet earth. He also longs to be satisfied by us individually which is also found in Song of Solomon.

Song of Solomon 6:2 -
[ Beloved ] My lover has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to browse in the gardens and to gather lilies. (NIV)

There are many gardens within the One Garden. Each one is uniquely beautiful and special. Each member of the Body of Christ exists to fulfill a very specific purpose. The revelation of the corporate Body of Christ does not lessen the importance of the individual, but supports it to a greater depth and clarity.

The Second Tree
Genesis 3:22 -
And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." (NIV)

We have given up what we were created for when we settle for good things instead of those which are the perfect things of God. We actually see that those things which are good can bring death when they are used as a substitute for God’s perfect will. It is also interesting that good and evil are coupled under the same tree! No matter what is produced of our own effort-apart from God-is filthy, offensive and deadly. If this tree is in our heart then the Father will not allow us to eat from the Tree of Life.

Romans 7:21 -
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. (NIV)

Proverbs 11:27 -
He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it. (NIV)

It is important to note that there is a separate good that is included in God’s prefect will. This good is something that is inherit within the divine Seed and that we are able to conduct our lives through. This good is not born out of works, but rather by nature and character.

Matthew 12:35 -
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. (NIV)

Romans 12:2 -
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is— his good, pleasing and perfect will. (NIV)

The Choice
It would seem that the choice between the two trees would be a simple one. The difficulty, however, is that the choice is not made of sheer will. One cannot embrace the Tree of Life solely on a conscious decision made in the mind. The true choice must be cultivated in the fruit of our lives. It must be uncovered in the deep places of the heart. The Tree of Life is not kept from us, but God in His wisdom, has guarded the way of it. Therefore, sacrifice must be made and relationship pursued to truly be able to satisfy our precious Lord and return to the place of satisfaction ourselves. His hand is open. His face is awaiting our approach.

Psalm 145:16 -
You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. (NIV)

Many people have felt that as long as their needs are met that the desire for God would be easy. If He would just take care of all our “desires,” the guess work on our part would be over. This is a dangerous fallacy! The problem that comes forth as a result of this line of thinking is that we assume what we perceive as a need is something that we actually deserve from the hand of God. The truth of the matter is that God is willing to provide what is birthed inside our hearts based on the desire of the Lord. When we as a Body can deduce that Jesus is all that we need--then the true need shall be satisfied.

Matthew 6:8 -
...for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (NIV)

Psalm 37:4 -
Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.(AMP)

We as the people of God should ask Him to Author what we should desire. The Body of Christ will be greatly effected when our prayers line up with the will of God. Knowing what we need releases us from focusing on anything else. We have been focusing on so many things that are not authored by God that we have not progressed as far as we have longed for. I want to encourage you that the tides are turning and the focus of God is being realized once again. All of our energy and effort must be completely focused upon Jesus.