The Second Tree

The Second Tree
I always wondered about the second tree. When God made Adam and Eve he had a plan. When they ate the fruit from the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil” they were banned from the Garden of Eden. But there was another tree called the “Tree of Everlasting Life.” Never heard much reference made about it but it must have been important.
Some things haven’t changed much since then. When God found them after they had disobeyed he asked Adam if had eaten of the tree the first thing he said was “the woman you made gave it to me”. Or to say “her fault and might even be your fault for making her!” She said “It was the serpent!” And the blame game goes on and on.
My practical side says if God made those two trees it was for a reason. One tree gave the knowledge of good and evil, the other gave immortality. My practical side also says there was no magic fruit except for the power of God. They must have been made for man so why was it wrong for them to eat? Obviously it wasn’t time!
Adam and Eve were in a test period. If they could have trusted God they may have been deemed worthy to eat from both trees. The trees were together in the center of the Garden so they must have been made to work together. Adam and Eve already believed in God. They even took walks with him in the Garden in the cool of the day. They failed when they didn’t trust God. It is a lot easier to believe than to trust. You believe when it is the logical thing to do. You trust when you put that belief into action and have something at stake. I believe the bridge will hold but I don’t trust it till I step out on it.
So what happened? God wasn’t mad and didn’t hate them. They failed and their sin separated them from God. God still loved them and made them coats out of animal skins (Gen 3.21). Then they had to leave the Garden and God and go into the world to make it sort of on their own. But what about the second tree?
God wanted to make sure they couldn’t get to the second tree so he put angels with flaming swords around the tree. Kind of seems like overkill. If they already had gotten thrown out of the Garden did they really need flaming swords?
Apparently God knows more about us than we know about ourselves. He knew they would eventually try to reach the tree. He obviously loved them so he must have wanted to protect them from a terrible fate. But what would be wrong with gaining everlasting life? If that life were to be spent separated from God it would be too terrible to contemplate. Eternity without God would be the cruelest sentence imaginable!
So what about us. Are we guilty and to be punished because they messed up? Not at all! God had a plan and it’s still working. We already have the knowledge of good and evil thanks to Adam and Eve. All we need is a way to remove the sin that separates us from God and we get to eat the fruit of the tree of everlasting life. Our savior Jesus made the sacrifice and paid our debt. If you accept Jesus there is nothing separating you from God. Then after trusting God you can freely eat and gain everlasting life.
I don’t know why it took me so long to figure out the second tree is Jesus!