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Alisa Hope Wagner

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Two Trees

October 5, 2020 By alisahopewagner 2 Comments

“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” (Genesis 2.9 NIV). 

The Garden of Eden represents the presence of God and heaven. Adam and Eve lived protected in the Garden of God with everything they needed to live fully in His goodness and favor. But God added two more essentials elements to the Garden. These two things are the foundation of a perfect creation where both pillars of love and justice can meet (Psalm 85.10).

First, He planted the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2.15-17). This tree represents the gift of free will. God gives us the authority as sons and daughters to choose right from wrong. He did not create us to be non-thinking beings with no ability to decide. Once our actions step outside of God’s protective will, though, our eyes will be opened to both good and evil and we cannot stay in the Garden of God because His Holy Standard has been broken. However, without the gift of free will, we would be unable to independently think, feel, decide or create. In essence, without free will, we could not love and be loved.

Obviously, with the gift of free will, we will make mistakes. We will sin. We will produce actions that are done outside of God’s will. Because of God’s great love, He formed a redemption plan from the beginning where His justice and love can intersect. The second thing God planted in the Garden was the Tree of Life (Revelation 22.1-4 NIV). The Tree of Life is the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Hero of the world sent to save it. He is the One Who forgives all of our sins committed outside of God’s will. Through Jesus’ Finished Work on the Cross, we don’t have to leave the Garden. We can remain in His presence.

God created us out of His great love. And He knew we would make mistakes, cause pain and corrupt His perfect creation. But our sin could not stop God’s love from creating His loved ones (2 Corinthians 6.18). God is love and He wants to share that love, so He willingly died to redeem our imperfections and give us His perfection (1 John 4.9-11). Jesus became the Tree of Life, so God’s love and His justice could equally embrace each of us and His creation.

So now we know that we are not only loved, but we are redeemed. We have been given the gift of free will and the gift of reconciliation through the Cross. We can have a relationship with a perfect God and can live fully in His goodness in favor despite our mess-ups in life. But we have to accept this gift. We’ve eaten from the Tree of Knowledge, so now it’s time to eat from the Tree of Life. Accept salvation through Jesus Christ, so you can walk confidently back into the Garden of God.

Be blessed, Loved ones.

Listen to Podcast for this meditation.

You can purchase Alisa’s book, Why Jesus: a 50 Day Holy Spirit Experience, from Amazon along with her other books.

 

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Filed Under: Christian Living, Podcast, Why Jesus Tagged With: Bible, Free will, God, Jesus, Messiah, Redemption

Alisa’s Blog

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Why Jesus – Day 36 Today’s Devotional: Don’t let feelings of doubt, insecurity or unworthiness deter you from claiming God’s promises for your life. God is faithful and good. We just need to see Him as He really is and rest all of our faith on Him! “She replied, ‘That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are […]

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Our Promises

Why Jesus – Day 34 Today’s Devotional: God gives you promises and allows them to look barren, so He can ignite and build the faith within you. Don’t give up on God’s promises for your life. Stand firm on His Word! For it is written, “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;     break forth and […]

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True and Lasting Peace

Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]. To this peace indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And be thankful [to God always] (Colossians 3:15 Amp). Many of us don’t know […]

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Small Things

Why Jesus – Day 38 Today’s Devotional: Doing the small things in life are just as valuable as doing the big things if God has called us to do them. If our motive is to stay obedient to God, we will do everything unto the Lord! “Has the potter no right over the clay, to […]

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Dead Last: A Chance to Catch Up

I joined a team to run the Beach to Bay, a six-person marathon run in Corpus Christi, Texas. Each person ran a distance of 3 miles to 5 miles. There were six legs of the run, and I was the first leg, which was on the beach–thus the name “Beach to Bay.” There were 8,000 […]

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Walking Through Quick Sand

 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Galatians 6.9 NKJV). There are some seasons that literally every day feels like walking through quicksand. Waking up is difficult. Working is difficult. Thinking is difficult. Doing daily tasks is difficult. And not […]

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Finding Freedom from Familiar Spirits

A familiar spirit or otherwise known as a familiar stronghold is a way of thinking that does not line up with God’s Word. People do not recognize that their thinking is wrong because they are accustomed to it. Mainly, they were raised with parent(s) or in an atmosphere that normalized this incorrect thinking. Therefore, their […]

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MY QUIET TIME PART 4: FAITH SOAKING SEASON 2 EPISODE 4

Finally, we are at the fourth and final part of my quiet time, which includes Bible Reading, Meditating on His Word, Listening to the Holy Spirit and Speaking in Tongues. First, I Read the Bible.  I usually start my Bible reading with a devotional written by a Christian writer whom I trust. I love reading […]

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Beverly Braxton says

    October 20, 2020 at 4:45 pm

    I just read “Twin Chances” in my When God Makes Lemonade book and decided to look up your website. I really enjoyed your story and the Two Trees in a Garden blog. Your writing is very uplifting so don’t stop.

    Reply
    • alisahopewagner says

      October 20, 2020 at 4:52 pm

      Thanks for the encouragement! It’s people like you that motivate me to continue!

      Reply

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