Trees

So, I am using this new devotional I bought back in January but am just getting around to using it. It's called The Women's Devotional Guide to the Bible by Jean E. Syswerda. It is described as "a one year plan for studying, praying, and responding to God's Word" and since I can use all that... here I am. =)

Luckily the entries aren't dated so when I picked it up on Monday, I could jump right in. Now, back to Genesis. I was asked to read Chapters 1-3 for this weeks devotions and since those are such familiar verses, I thought I would read them in The Message. I have read the start of Genesis so many times... I mean, think about how many times you've wanted to read through the whole Bible and started there. Never mind all the times we've studied Adam and Eve. So it was remarkably refreshing to read from The Message. I am a very visual person and as I read this passage this time, I could just see the nothingness changing; taking on shape and definition, becoming lighter, showing specs of color. It was beautiful!

But let me stop rambling and get to my point. In Genesis 3:22 God says,

The Man has become like one of us, capable of knowing everything, ranging from good to evil. What if he now should reach out and take fruit from the Tree-of-Life and eat, and live forever? Never—this cannot happen!

And I thought, wait! Man can't eat from the Tree-of-Life? I thought he couldn't eat from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of Good-and-Evil. This just made me think. Before sin entered our lives, we could eat from the Tree-of-Life and live forever but the moment Eve disobeyed, we were barred from that tree and it's now protected by cherubim and a revolving, flaming sword. This is something I knew but it just struck me yesterday. We had it all! We had communion with God in the most glorious garden ever created, no shame, and eternal life. Eve believed one lie and we lost it all. Thank God that it was reclaimed when everlasting life was offered by another tree... the one that Christ hung on for my sins.