It All Started With a Tree
Genesis 1:1 states, God created the heavens and the earth. There are theories as to what happened next but we cannot pinpoint for certain. Some type of catastrophe happened between verses one and two, that caused the earth to be described as formless, dark and empty. Next we read that The Holy Spirit was hovering over the waters and God began to speak man and all of creation into existence. When man (Adam) is first mentioned in scripture, I believe it’s no coincidence that the following verse mentions beautiful trees surrounding him that were pleasing to the eye and good for food (Genesis 2:8, 9). So pay close attention to the correlation between God, man and tree. In the meantime remember the bible names two trees in particular, one being the tree of life, and the other being the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God commanded Adam not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, warning that doing so would lead to his death (Genesis 2:17).
As you know chapter three of Genesis then follows, with Adam’s wife Eve talking to Satan in the form of a snake, who is trying to tempt her to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: the one strictly forbidden by God for her and Adam to eat. After succumbing to Satan’s temptation they decide to eat some of this tree’s fruit. This single act of disobedience changed the course of human history forever. We see the extent of God’s intended blessing for all men through the curse that fell on the lives of Adam and Eve. The ensuing curse that came as a result of their disobedience affected the ground, for now it yielded thorns and thistles. Moreover, man would only eat by the sweat of his brow, childbirth became very painful, and above all else man now found himself destined to die physically, and more importantly spiritually, separated from God. Romans 5:12 NLT says it best, “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone for everyone sinned.”
God Had a Plan
Because of Adam and Eve’s decision – sin broke out in the world, and because every man sinned, all of humanity found itself separated from God. At first glance it would seem Satan ruined God’s plan for a perfect paradise but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The bible informs us that God had Jesus prepared to die from the moment of creation of the world (Revelation 13:8). This plan to reconcile God and man’s broken relationship immediately sprang into action, and culminates with Jesus coming in the form of a baby thousands of years later, or what the bible calls the “set time” (Galatians 4:4 NIV). This “set time” is what you and I like to celebrate, otherwise known as Christmas.
The Most Beautiful Tree of All
Until the proper time of Jesus’ coming to earth, God instituted laws through Moses (thus called Law of Moses) for worship and daily living. These laws were meant to point man to a Holy God, but also, through man’s inability to keep all of these laws, it pointed to man’s need for Jesus to pay the ultimate price for sin (Galatians 3:19). When reading through these laws we find in Deuteronomy 21:23 (NLT, ESV, KJV), that if someone is sentenced to die for a capital offense, and they are hung on a tree, they are considered cursed by God. At first glance this can be overlooked, but remember the correlation I mentioned earlier between God, man, and tree. The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, shines light on this threefold relationship when he quotes the Deuteronomy passage in Galatians 3:13 (NLT, ESV, KJV). He writes how Christ redeemed man from the curse of sin, by dying on a tree, in order that we might be reconciled with God. In other words, whereas the decision to eat from a tree once separated man from God in the garden, it took Jesus’ death on a tree, symbolizing his assumption of man’s sin, to reconcile sinful man back to God.
This Christmas as I think of Jesus coming to earth, I celebrate the fact that his coming marks the beginning of the ultimate quest to heal a broken relationship. This time of year we celebrate with all of our decorations of garland, candy canes, mistletoes, and other ornaments, but none are more significant than the Christmas tree. When I think of Jesus coming to earth to eventually die on the cross (or tree) of Calvary, although the bible paints a gory, bloody, and dreadful picture, it still represents the most beautiful tree of all. As I ponder the true meaning of Christmas, I celebrate it because it marks the beginning of Jesus’ mission to come to earth to die on that beautiful tree. But before the wood of the cross, Jesus must first go by the wood of the manger. So this Christmas as you think of baby Jesus: remember the power that comes with the fact that he ultimately was born to die and rise again (Acts 5:30 ESV, KJV). May God’s gift of peace be with you and your family through this holiday season, and let’s look ahead to an even more prosperous new year!