There are really only two trees. They represent the only two choices we face in life – the choice between the Tree of Life and The Tree of Death.

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is the Tree of Distraction, it is the Tree of Spiritual Death. The Tree of Distraction stands next to the Tree of Life. This was done by design and it a great demonstration of the love of God, He does not weigh the dice away from genuine freedom of choice.

The Tree of Distraction has fruit that was good to look at. It was the good looking tree. It was a tree that appealed to the physical senses, it was the Tree of Flesh, the Death-Flesh Tree. Inside its fruit was the elixir of death. It is the Poison Tree. Interestingly, it did not have nasty thorns but good looking fruit. False fruit. Hagar fruit. Esau Fruit. Fruit of the slave of sin. Outwardly, it looked good, its unique poison was to kill communion with God with the independence from God it offered and a ‘free life’, but it really delivered death by the truck load. Thorns and Thistles are its offspring. It births poisonous children. It is the worst kind of weed tree and it wants to take over your life like weeds do a beautiful but unkept and unguarded garden.

 “But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away.”

Mat 13:25

God all along wants to walk in the cool of the day of an exquisite garden he planted. He wants to hang. Talk. Enjoy beauty, together. But the noxious beguiling Tree of Lies, Tree of Death stands there tall to distract us away with believable lies.

The Tree of Distraction is The Ultimate Weed. It vigorously competes for the sunshine from the Tree of Life. It hates the Tree of Life and wants to smother it, just like weeds do to useful plants. Its fruit looks great, but it is spiritual poison and deadly.

Jesus or Barabbas?

Jesus will save you from your sins but Barabbas will save you from Caesar’s taxes and give you political autonomy. Who cares if you have political autonomy when you are still a slave inwardly to the same things that enslave Caesar?

Here again, we have the Tree of Life V the Tree of Distraction. The people chose the Great Distraction, that bespoke lie of Satan, Satan’s own man – Barabbas – which means, incidentally, son of the father. Two Sons of the Father, Two Trees, Two Saviour’s but … one choice. Who do you choose to be freed to save you?

Will you choose the option to get deliverance for yourself, like Barabbas tried to do and take matters into your own human hands, so to speak? He promises to make revolutionary changes to outward things, visible things, things you can boast of in the flesh …

Barabbas is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Barabbas offers outward stuff, outward peace, stuff that perishes, Christ offers eternal peace and life forevermore. And we should take a deep breath, and settle our mind only to choose Christ. Choose Life. Only Life.

Good Dead Works

Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

Heb 6:1-2

Let us repent of the good or evil “dead works” we did outside of Christ, The Tree of Life. These good dead works are dead because they come from the Tree of Spiritual Death. Let us only do what we see the Father do and say what we hear Him say. Let us choose Life as our only diet.

Fix your eyes on Jesus. Sit, perhaps kneel, only under His shade. Do not be tempted and drawn away by the lies of that attractive, yet poisonous tree. Even though it is a familiar tree, growing in the conspicuous centre of the garden, forget not its treacherousness. Do not die a Death by Distraction … death by doing good works that are not God works.

“But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

Gen 2:17

Don’t choose to die!