# 2- The Garden Revisited

The allegorical tree of “good and evil” (Genesis 2:17) has such a powerful, non-literal meaning that unfortunately gets missed in the midst of the prose. Like the story of Jonah which has so many principles that we seemingly can’t see or don’t wish to follow, this tree lays down such astounding life models for us to follow. Let’s see if we can’t grasp them NOW.

You would agree that there is no such tree grown on earth, right?

And, there’s NO APPLE or APPLE tree in the story!

That this is an allegory, a fable (can you say Aesop?), the point(s) of the story are life and death: but we’ve forgotten that evidently.

For me the central CORE of this story is about ONE POWER!

ONE POWER! Uno, Un, Um, En, Eins, and other language translations for ONE.

Genesis 2:16-17 is clear that IF we, you and I, here and NOW, walk in the duality of TWO POWERS, trouble is headed our way. My assessment from the principle is that you can eat from the tree of EVIL if you want or from the tree of GOOD-LIFE and at least there’s congruity; however, to bounce back and forth with good thoughts and evil thoughts is surely to bring trouble into your life.

Mixed fruit is deadly fruit (that’s a metaphor, not a recipe for a fruit salad).

You see people (lots of Christians too) mixing the two thoughts (a key word here). I can sin and be forgiven. By God, but not by karma and life here on this planet. There are many who think the means justify the ends. Feeding the family, because that’s a Godly thing to do, is a reason to steal from the rich, or justifies not paying your taxes.

While good “bed side manners” are always the way to lead your life, to spill over into insincere overstatements, or flattery in order to accomplish a good feeling misses the point entirely. Likewise, you can’t be victorious and engage in worry, fear, or doubt one moment and confess God is WITH you in the next breath. That’s two-power thinking and it’s destructive. Let’s be and get consistent!

Might we say, it could cause us to FALL?

Ah, now there’s another topic for another day.

So, can we be done with the metaphorical, non-existent dual powered tree with no apples? The FRUIT of living and walking in TWO POWERS is to miss living in the NOW Kingdom life.

Tomorrow, we’ll tackle the snake: I’m holding off for the BIG ONE: Adam and Eve. Trying to ease into this.