Man chose the path of sin, death and distance from God. Adam & Eve were given a wide road to life and a narrow road to death, but they chose to eat of the tree of death.
All future generations of men were born eating only of this fruit and knowing only this existence. Yet, God so loved Man that He enabled a way to pin this curse on His one perfect Son, Jesus. By choosing Jesus, you access the life he once again made possible.
Two Trees
Psm. 1:1-3 [NIV]
1Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
2But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.Is 6:13 [NIV]
13And though a tenth remains in the land,
it will again be laid waste.
But as the terebinth and oak
leave stumps when they are cut down,
so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”Is 11:1 [NIV]
1A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.Mt 13:31-32 [NIV]
31He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”Re 22:1-5 [NIV]
1Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
This post is _Part 6_ in a series on The Cross. To continue this series, click on Part 7. To use this as a growth tool to better understand your own calling, you might start by reading the explanation of this series and then read Pt 1, Pt 2, Pt 3, Pt 4 and Pt 5.
Photo credit: Ms. Max