Cutting Down Trees

Recently, my husband and a friend were outside cutting down trees on our property. The area where we live is surrounded by many maple trees and silver birches. Unfortunately, many of the birch trees are dead and need to be taken down. They are huge trees, and some of them could possibly fall and damage our house.

That got me thinking about trees.

Two trees are mentioned in the first book of the Bible:

Genesis 2:9b,16-17 – In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die." (NIV)

But, as the Bible tells us, Eve was deceived by the snake and convinced Adam to also eat of the fruit of that tree. The result: their disobedience caused spiritual death, a broken relationship between them and God, and consequently, between all of mankind and God. Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden by God. It sounds like a hopeless situation.

But Jesus died on a tree.

Galatians 3:13 – Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." (NIV)

Jesus died to bring us back into a living relationship with God. He was perfect in every way, without sin. His sacrifice on the cross atoned for our sins. We can be made right with God again. This is the hope of the gospel.

In John's vision of heaven in the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, the tree of life reappears:

Revelation 22:14 – Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. (NIV)

There is hope. Jesus died on the cross to defeat death. He came to save us from the sinful nature that we inherited. We are washed clean when we choose to accept Jesus into our lives as Lord and Saviour. Eternal life can be ours. This is God's gift to us.

Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NIV)

We, who are dead in our sinful nature, need to be forgiven and re-born by the grace of God. It's a matter of life and death.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we acknowledge our need for a Saviour. Sin has separated us from You. We long to be in a loving relationship with You. Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to rescue us from a hopeless situation. In His name, we pray. Amen.

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