pondering two trees

As I've said often this summer, I don't feel that I have as much time for uninterrupted pondering... or at least for framing my ponderings into anything worth publishing, even on an imperfect blog.

But I've been thinking a lot lately about the two trees in the Garden of Eden. About how we live out of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - a tree was never meant for us. I've been wondering what it would have been like to have lived simply from the tree of life.

I'm convinced that our need to judge subsets of people as groups of "sinners" and our pharisee-like need to separate ourselves with clearly defined boundaries is all tied back to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Even our obsession with end times and sorting out who will be in and out, I believe, is the fruit of this tree, fruit we were not created for. A tree who represents our current reality, yes, but not our goal, not what our hearts pound for, not what Jesus came to plant the first-fruits of within us.

Now, the tree of life? How is that different? I'm not completely sure, but I have some ideas... I think it's about dependence on the source. About all of us in this together. About trusting the heart of our Maker no matter who whispers lies about Him into our ears. About all of everything being very good.

What's fun for me is that I'm not the only one who has been thinking about this. Check out The Sarcastic Lutheran's latest sermon. Good stuff, as always. Then, who could go wrong with Bonhoeffer and Ents? Not her, that's for sure.

Two trees.

By His grace, may we choose the fruit of Life and offer it to those around us.