Christian Spiritual Growth

Two Trees

Knowledge ~ Life

Have you ever felt spiritually dry?

Perhaps you’re there now.

Do you wonder why… or do you just continue on with the motions of your life?

Times of spiritual dryness can prompt us to begin to examine what we believe because we always act upon what we believe. Our Christian spiritual growth hinges upon what we believe.

If you do, you will be open to teachings that are rooted in the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

These teachings define what is God’s best—what the writer perceives is good for you—and often quote numerous Scripture verses to support the writer’s beliefs.

Often these writers provide extreme examples of the evil that will follow if you don’t accept their teachings and judge you harshly if you question either the teaching and/or the writer. Arrogance and pride permeate the teachings as writers set themselves up as an authority over your life. Women who want to grow into more Christlikeness by trying to renew their minds so they can be transformed are often labeled as Jezebels or rebellious.

These writings and teachings which are rooted in the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil bind. They are not sound doctrine because they are not rooted in Christ who sets us free, gives us eyes to see, and heals us.

Eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil brings death, a very slow death to the souls and lives of those who practice them.

Why?

To one who is at a “cross” roads (seeking the Lord), these teachings may look good on the outside because of their false promises—“if you do A, B, and C, you will get X, Y, and Z”—but the result of these promises is a life full of images, a life lacking in Life-giving relationship that will transform you, a life full of pride and arrogance.

The teachers of these doctrines (man or woman) create an image in which he or she can easily walk and then condemn others who do not walk in his image, which leads to pride and arrogance.

Yes, there are many roles to be fulfilled as men and women of God and many places where we can use our giftings, but those roles and giftings should not define us.

When our roles or giftings define who we are, we have embraced an image and eaten from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. A process of quenching the Spirit and spiritual death begins.

Images can be likened to a coloring book. Someone offering you an image places before you a black-and-white page with a picture to be colored. You accept that page and begin coloring within the lines.

Everyone else who has accepted that image has the same coloring page, and although they color it a little differently, they still live their lives within that same image.

Those lives look pretty much the same. You can see them in many Christian magazines these days and in Christian sects. There is really no need to seek God when you have that image before you. All you need to do is color it in and live like everyone else who walks in that image.

Father-God, however, gives us a blank, multi-dimensional "space,” metaphorically speaking, and encourages us:

"Let Me guide your hands as we create this representation of your life together. As you move forward, I will guide you. Go ahead. Begin. Don't fear. I'm right here to help you."

And so we start to move forward and we feel that pressure of His Hand/Spirit guiding us.

What a beautiful, unique creation we see unfold before us!

The colors are vivid.

The workmanship is glorious, yet undone.

It is so exciting to watch it unfold!

No image, just eager anticipation as we move forward together with the Lord of our lives.

What will He reveal next?

It doesn't look like any other life we've seen before because it is unique. His workmanship, created together with our yielded and willing heart, fits perfectly into the whole of His Body, the unique place where He can minister to a certain sphere of people through this vessel He created with our willingness to be molded.

This process is eating from the Tree of Life!

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