A beautiful afternoon with just the right temperature, a sky filled with good soothing colors, and we are standing among one hundred trees bearing all kinds of fruit. We have been given one hundred percent freedom of choice to eat from any of them. One hundred percent of absolute of our free will choice of all the trees. Our host pointed out to us there is “Just One Tree” out of the one hundred trees that will produce a different outcome from all the rest – “Just One Tree“. We wake up each morning to find all the trees bearing fruit for us as we walk along gazing upon thinking to ourselves”what tree will I try today?” just like a kid in a freshly baked donut shop with all the sweet smells of choices. The good choices far out number the bad choice. Ninety-nine easy choices of good with just one choice of evil to avoid a bad outcome. One hundred percent of absolute freedom of choice of all one hundred trees with the exception of one that would bring death “Just One Tree“.

It is hard to imagine an entire world absent of evil, death, and disease locked away inside “Just One Tree“. A world no matter where you walked there was no harm to come to you. A world without any fear of anything at all completely. A world absolutely free from sadness, grief, and despair. Adam and Eve had “Just One Tree” to avoid to continue to live in a world of absolute freedom from pain, sorrow, and sad goodbyes. I could not imagine a life with free laughter at no ones expense, free joy without side effects, free love without strings attached, free friendships with no hidden agendas, free kindness wanting nothing in return, free acceptance as you are, and the list goes on. “Just One Tree” could totally change all of the world and the things in it.

One day Eve is walking along with Adam among the figurative one hundred trees. No voices were heard from the ninety-nine, but as they passed by the “Just One Tree” a voice spoke up and said to Eve “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”“You will not certainly die,” the voice said. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Out of the long line of great tasting healthy trees of a good life “Just One Tree” Eve made the decision that its fruit was good (opposite of God) for food, pleasing to her eyes, and believing the gaining of wisdom like gods from “Just One Tree“. Adam who was with her ate also completing the release of disease, death, and hell upon all mankind along with the entire world because of “Just One Tree“. (Ge. 2:16, 17, Ge. 3)

We wake up every day not finding always a beautiful day with just the right temperature, a sky filled with soothing colors, no danger, and we are standing among one hundred trees bearing all kinds of good fruit just for us. We wake from our birth to our death in this world with figuratively ninety-nine choices of evil and only one choice of good of which not all know about.

Adam and Eve had two sons who were named Cain and Abel. On a certain day the two sons brought an offering to God that their parents once openly and freely fellowship among the one hundred figurative trees. Death is upon all of the earth because of “Just One Tree” separating them from the God of life. Cain the oldest offered from his garden and Abel offered from his flock of animals. God favored Abel’s offering, which to let you in on the secret death separated us from God and only blood would atone us back to God as sick as it may sound we are the ones that made the choice out of the one hundred trees. Let us go back to Cain and Abel’s offering and what they both faced. Cain saw God honored his brother’s offering more than his. At the fork of this road Cain stands seeing what God honored and what He did not honor. Cain and Abel now know what God likes and possibly dislikes in an offering. Cain is faced with the same freedom to choose as his mother did standing before that “Just One Tree“. Cain can choose to say no to the evil of anger and depression of that one tree or say yes. His tree of the knowledge of good and of evil was what to do about his offering. God even tried to help Cain with his anger and depression with words of encouragement (Ge. 4:6,7). God went onto warn him of the wrong choice as his mother did that sin is crouching at his door with the desire to possess him, but he must rule over it.

The world in the beginning was dominated by more choices of good versus that “Just One Tree” of the knowledge of good and evil meaning good angels once chose evil forever. Now, the world is dominated by more choices of evil versus the choices of good. The roles have reversed from the beginning of creation to our present day. Ninety-nine good trees and “Just One Tree” of evil to ninety-nine evil trees and “Just One Tree of Eternal Life“.

Cain asked his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” His brother Abel willingly went out to the field with his older brother. Cain attacked his younger brother and killed him. We see Cain standing before the tree of the knowledge of good and evil making the choice of death instead of improvement on his next offering. Cain took the fruit of that “Just One Tree” with the answer of death for his younger brother over a learning experience of what God likes and dislikes. Does this sound familiar today with you and what you see around you and in the news? People are constantly choosing the from the wrong tree repeating over and over Eve and Adams choices.

You and I wake up everyday standing before the invisible tree of the knowledge of good and evil at home, at work, at school, at the mall, at the store, at the restaurant, at church, and anywhere else you are thinking making decisions of our actions out of the ninety-nine to one choices. If anyone knows the good they should do and does it not, it is sin for them (Ja. 4:17). If I choose to lie I have chosen the fruit of death (Rev. 21:4) from that same tree of good and of evil taking one more step towards the second death of eternal flames of punishment. If I choose the way, the truth, and the life I have chosen the tree of eternal life through Jesus Christ back to the Father. It is a scary thought to think how often we stand figuratively before the “Just One Tree” like Eve and Adam deciding our own fate daily. Our life is like a vapor or midst that appears for a little while and then vanishes. How do you want to answer your next question standing before this tree of the knowledge of good and of evil knowing right from wrong all the while the person standing there has no clue what you are facing in front of them.

Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights when the devil (the voice from the tree of knowledge of good and of evil) came to him saying, if you are the son of God turn these stones into bread (trying to make the rocks to look good to eat as he did to Eve with the fruit). Jesus is like Eve and Adam standing before this “Just One Tree” of destiny. Jesus did not reach down to the rock turning it into bread , but said back to the devil, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word from the mouth of God. Eve and Adam failed before this one tree because they did not live on the word of God’s warning of that “Just One Tree“. As the devil did with Eve and Adam in not giving up took Jesus to the highest pinnacle at the temple and said to Jesus if he was the son of God that it is written that God will command his angels concerning you to lift you up in their hands so as not to strike your foot against a stone. The same thing he told Eve that she would not die – opposite of what God said. Jesus gave back to the devil it is written not to put the Lord your God to the test. The final test of the devil’s temptation to Jesus who had been without food forty days and forty nights standing before this “Just One Tree” of the knowledge of good and of evil that mankind stood once before in the beginning of creation. The devil takes Jesus high into the mountains to show him the riches of the world and says to him “All this I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me.” When Adam and Eve ate of that “Just One Tree” out of the rest they gave the devil absolute control over them and the earth under the guise that they would become as gods (power-hungry). Jesus made the choice from the tree of eternal life saying to the devil, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” (Mtt. 4). The devil was just a fallen angel and Jesus was God manifested in the flesh (1 Tim 3:16) for the purpose of giving us a chance at the tree of eternal life. I can see Jesus in how he lived, moved, and had his being among us. I can see how his words were the words of spirit and of life. I can see Jesus is that one reversed tree from the knowledge of good and of evil to the tree of eternal life (Jn. 17:3). All the ninety-nine evil choices today to the one choice of good through Jesus Christ the tree of eternal life.

If Eve and Adam had the strength inside of them to say to that serpent, the devil, to get away from them that God said to not eat of this “Just One Tree” what would our world be like today? It was a good thing God chased mankind away from the tree of eternal life after falling into sin preventing us eternal damnation and a second chance to make the right choice. What were you confronted with today standing before the tree of the knowledge of good and of evil? What will you be challenged with tomorrow among the thousands of trees of the knowledge of good and of evil? We live in the reverse of the garden of Eden with more trees we should not eat from and the “Just One Tree” of eternal life we should eat from for our answers to life and life more abundantly.