How strange that God has made WHAT WE ACTUALLY NEED to be despised in the eyes of men, while WHAT WE WANT is deemed a coveted delicacy! The real solution to our present awful state is often the very thing that is unwanted by our natural affections, while the very things that prove a spiritual detriment to us are those things that we cannot seem to look away from. Why is that? Why can't God cause us to lust after that which is good, and naturally covet that which will be our spiritual success? If that were the case, surely this life would prove much easier!
But, God wants to be sought after. He has designed it in such a way so that He alone can draw mankind to salvation; it cannot be a work of the flesh, or a mere "temporal want" of the lonely soul: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (Jn 3:6). It must, in fact, be from the only source of divine grace and wooing; it must spring from the heart of God, not from that of man.. It cannot spring from a mere natural and common attraction (Jn 6:45; 65; Eph 2:4-10; Col 2:12; Tit 3:3-5). This is the only way it can be deemed "eternal" (Heb 5:9). God alone chooses whom to reveal Himself to, based upon the response of the human heart, and what is good in His sight (Matt 11:25-26). It's a miraculous event!
We see this concept through an interesting illustration regarding two trees in Scripture: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:17), and the tree of the Cross of Calvary (Acts 5:30; 10:39; 1 Pet 2:24; Gal 3:13).
Observe...
First of all, of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it is said to be "pleasant to the eyes" (Gen 3:6). Exactly what was so pleasant, we cannot know, but the divine record seems to indicate this tree as an object of beauty and delight.
What a dramatic contrast from the second tree (the Cross)! Such a contrast is undoubtedly used as an excuse toward mankind's neglect.
Of this tree, it is said to be an emblem of cursing (Gal 3:13). Here, everything was hideous and repulsive to the natural eye. The suffering Victim, the taunting crowds, the awful priests, the flowing blood, the hours of darkness - nothing was there to attract man's natural eye! Nothing here was naturally pleasant: They saw in Him "no beauty that we should desire Him" (Isa 53:5). How strange that this very uncomely event was the complete answer to man's sin problem!
Secondly, this first tree was said to be "good for food" (Gen 3:6). Surely, it possessed many natural bounties satisfying to the carnal appetite. What a dramatic difference this quality is to that fruit of the second tree! Of this tree, the fruit is said to be the very body and blood of the Lord Jesus: ""Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day" (Jn 6:53-54). What an incredible offense to men with mere natural thinking! And what an easy choice toward the former tree by those who have not been wooed by the Father!
Lastly, the first tree was said "to be desired to make one wise..." (Gen 3:6). What a delicious attraction this must have been to our ancestors; what tempting foliage! And how interesting that the fruit of this second tree, the Cross of Christ, was the exact polar opposite. This fruit was not to be considered beneficial toward mere worldly wisdom, rather, this fruit was that of spiritual wisdom, and foolish to the world: "We are fools for Christ's sake..." (1 Cor 4:10), and again Paul says, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe" (1 Cor 1:18-21).
Not only are we naturally attracted to the first tree, and naturally repulsed by the second, but Satan himself has been active in influencing our carnal tendencies. Because God forbade man to eat of the first tree, Satan has sought to provoke a feast thereupon. He has used every artifice to entice man to eat of it. Contrariwise, because God desires mankind to eat of the second tree, Satan has used all his powers to try and prevent it! The subtle devices of the old serpent, the Devil, continually cause mankind to partake of the wrong tree. What a sad story. Such a feasting upon the first tree brings sin and death. It was through the eating of this tree that the curse came upon the human race, with all its miseries. Sadly, much of mankind has casually shifted the object of their "eating", and consequently, has lost his spiritual life. However, a feasting upon the second, more glorious tree is always God's counsel and cure! What natural men may count as a repulsive incident, spiritual men, being wooed by Almighty God, find wonderful and beloved.
It's such a fascinating incidence we find here in this contrast of trees. What may seem like a buffet for the carnal appetite is actually poisoned with dainties of eternal separation. And what may appear useless and illogical to the natural senses, is in fact, the very wellspring from which all spiritual sustenance flows! Friend, let us not look upon a thing after the mere natural visage, but let's allow our sight to rightly behold Him that is true!
"Draw me, we will run after thee..." (Song 1:4).
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