Saturday, September 21, 2013

Which Tree ?

Our spirit is recreated through a “new birth” in which these spiritual senses are restored and begin to develop.  It is very important that we spend quality time “waiting upon the Lord” in order to develop our ability to “sense” (spirit), or “feel” (soul) His presence, and “hear” His voice, deep within us.

These spiritual senses are further developed and matured through our obedience to a process of “testing,” which is designed to draw us up into a higher realm of spiritual awareness, understanding, and experience.

As the Lord tested Adam by placing the tree of “life” and the tree of the “knowledge” of good and evil in the “midst” of the garden, we also must face a process in which we are tested to determine the outworking of the Lord's purpose for us.  Therefore, these two “trees” are placed in the pattern of each of our lives.  The tree of life (spirit) represents our utter dependence upon, and trust in, the outworking of His purpose and provision for us.  The tree of the knowledge of good and evil (soul) represents our desire to be independent and choose for ourselves what is right or wrong.

Therefore, we must make a choice concerning these opposite pulls upon our being.  We can choose to satisfy our soulish, sensual desires, as expressed in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; or we can choose the higher realm of spirituality, as expressed in the tree of life (over-comer).