There is a story we’ve heard of the refiner’s fire. A lump of rock is placed in a crucible and heated up to melting. As the rock melts in the fire, the impurities bubble to the top and the refiner scoops it away. This continues until standing over the molten brew the refiner sees perfectly his own reflection in the purity of the liquid silver or gold.

Thus we Christians believe, is God’s refining fire. Exposing our dross so that it can be taken away until the day we reflect perfectly the face of the One in whose image we are made.

Ah, but there is an unexpected twist you see when the face in the gold is looking to see! Face to face I see the one who’s looking back at me and the face I see is the face that’s seen by the one who’s looking back at me.

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

I am known by the One with the face that peers into the mess, looking, hoping, loving, working, waiting for the day when the face in the mess will emerge to return the gaze in wonder and ah! The knower shall be known and the known shall become the knower! The two shall be forever joined, forever one, forever sharing the journey of love, the journey home.

As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;

I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness. (Psalms 17:15)

Are you getting the picture?

Before, Adam’s self image was based on unity, connection to what existed - truth. Adam knew who he was and his self image reflected reality. The Adam that Adam knew in his mind was the real Adam.

After, there was a different Adam, an impostor. The impostor Adam was a fantasy that existed only in Adam’s mind. The impostor Adam’s self image was based on duality, separation, and evil (what is NOT). The impostor Adam was the NOT-Adam. The impostor Adam didn’t really exist, he was only an illusion (NON-EXISTANT).

There’s something else that doesn’t exist - death. Death is NOT life. Death is NON-EXISTANCE. The day he ate the fruit Adam became NON-EXISTANCE. Adam died just as God said.

Genesis 2:17 (ESV)
¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

This my friend has to be one of the most missed and misunderstood concepts in the whole entire Bible.

The spiritual pathway, the narrow road, the way, the truth, and the life, is moving in our minds from WHAT IS NOT (death) to WHAT IS (life). It’s moving from our fantasy self image, from the impostor to the real one. It’s moving from duality and separation back to unity and connection.

We can spend our lives feeding the fantasy, desiring to make our fantasy reality, walking the dead man. This of course ends in death. It has to because it begins in death and it leaves a trail of destruction, pain, misery, and ugliness.

The Bible speaks of being born again. This is the point when somehow God reignites the spark. He causes in us a desire to stop walking the dead man and start being the man that is real. Please notice that this can be stated as a double negative: NOT being the NOT-man. It’s a process though and it doesn’t come easy. The dead man doesn’t give up without a fight but the fight is worth it because it ends in life, in reality, in connection, in oneness with God and all things.

Think deeply about these things.

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Yup, that’s right, like it or not you are living as the single inhabitant, a castaway, on your very own Fantasy Island. It’s a gift from Adam. He was the first castaway – the first with a duality problem and he passed it on to you.

Your island is an illusion. It’s not real but you’re stuck on it. Don’t believe me? Well then …

Meet Bob and Dave. They just met each other for the first time – had a long conversation over lunch discussing a business proposition. Dave came away thinking Bob really liked him and his ideas. Bob came away thinking Dave really liked him and his ideas. So, they each spent the next week of their lives preparing to do business with each other.

The truth? Well it wasn’t what you just read. Each thought the other was strange but a good target for an easy sell. Each of them thought they had done a good job of hiding their true intentions towards the other but they hadn’t. Each wasted the next week of their lives because of the fantasy that existed only in their minds.

See how it works? In every interaction we have with other human beings the boogeyman is there, urging us to hide and at the same time to manipulate to gain an advantage, telling us to watch out for stuff that doesn’t exist.

But that’s not the worst part.

The boogeyman tells you things about God. He wants to keep you on your island, separated in your own mind’s fantasy from the One that’s right there, in you, through you, all around you, giving you life and breath and being.

He tells you God is far away in His own place, watching but unconcerned.

He tells you God doesn’t care.

He tells you God can be manipulated.

He tells you God is not there.

He tells you that YOU are God.

So, how are you going do it? Get off the island? Get the boogeyman out of your head? Return to reality, to goodness, harmony, peace, beauty, wholeness, and unity? How?

There is hope my friend – yes indeed!

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Adam. One bite. Unity to duality. For the first time Adam began to experience confusion – what’s real (good) verses what’s not real (evil). The dual paths in his mind now competing for attention.

Before, Adam only knew the wonder, beauty, goodness, truth, and purity of all things. Now there was a boogeyman in his head telling him things weren’t all that good after all. Before, in Adam’s world everything was perfect. Now, the boogeyman was telling him things could be better. Who would he listen to? The old voice he recognized from before or the new one challenging him to take action – take things into his own hands – look out for number one.

The boogeyman told him he was exposed, open for attack, and that he needed to conceal his true self lest someone take advantage of his vulnerability. So, for the first time Adam put on clothes as the boogeyman began to take control.

And then this.

Genesis 3:8 (ESV)
⁸ And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Hiding in plain sight – the little child with eyes covered thinking he is invisible. What are we to make of this? What’s the message? Adam now believed there was a place he could go to get away from God – a place where God was NOT. Separation. Adam had his own world now and he could shut God out of it.

Ah, but reality, the truth had not changed. There was separation only in the fantasy of Adam’s mind. Adam separated from reality. God was still there, in him, through him, and all around him, the same way He had always been.

Separation. The evil illusion. Fantasy Island.

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God warned Adam about eating the fruit. He loved him and knew the effects would be devastating. The fruit of the tree was not innocuous. It was poison for the mind.

Some will tell you the tree was just an arbitrary test of obedience and that because Adam failed God punished him with death.

It seems to me the events recounted in Genesis tell a different story.

Genesis 3:7 (ESV)
⁷ Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Clothes for the first time became a necessity. Why? Because Adam felt the need to CONCEAL his private parts.

Before: no concealment necessary.

After: concealment was the first priority.

Before: Adam had no private parts – he was an open book to the entire Universe.

After: Adam had stuff to hide.

Adam began hiding HIS stuff. HIS stash. He suddenly saw everything in terms of what was his and what was not his and his first priority in life was to protect HIS stuff - his possessions.

He suddenly saw himself as separate from everything else. Within his newly altered mind there was Adam and there was everything else which was not Adam. Inside the clothing was Adam and outside the clothing was everything else. Clothing became the wall of Separation.

Separation is duality.

Adam AND not Adam.

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Before he ate the fruit from the tree of the KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND evil did Adam know good?

I’ll wait while you think about it ….

Now let’s compare answers. I say he didn’t know “good” AS good he only knew what WAS, what existed, basically truth. He didn’t know there was an alternative to good. He didn’t know that what he knew existed could be compared to something else.

Adam had a one track mind.

Here are a couple definitions of unity:

1.       The state or quality of being one; singleness.

2.       The state or quality of being in accord; harmony.

In the Genesis account before the fall do you find any evidence of unity as it related to Adam?

Perhaps the fact that he was naked and felt no need for clothing? Adam was one within himself, with eve, with God, and with the Universe.

Ah, but how things soon changed …

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Let’s try and summarize.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a very good gift from God. It’s the gift of freedom and choice to His children.

God is love. He is a lover. He loves you. He wants you to love Him but He gives you the choice. He lets you choose. He will keep on loving you regardless of how you choose. Isn’t that what love is all about? For there to be love, true love, there must also be situations and circumstances where love must soldier on against all odds, against rejection. Love never fails but it must be given the opportunity to.

God warned his children about eating from the tree because He loved them and knew they would be severely damaged if they ate. He also knew that when they did eat He would take it upon Himself to comfort, mend, and heal His broken children. He would give His life to give them back theirs.

The tree offers us the option to choose God or MAKE UP an alternative. There is actually, in reality, no alternative to God – He is all there is. There is no other place to go. There is no separation. There is only the alternative to turn and hide ourselves in an illusion of our own making within our own minds.

I’m reminded of how my children when they were small would play this silly hiding game. You’ve probably seen it. While standing in plain sight of everyone they would cover up their eyes and thinking they were invisible would ask us to search for them. We all do this – cover up our eyes and live in the darkness of our own minds.

Are you getting the picture?

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Okay more on the tree …

Did you notice the tree is NOT the tree OF good and evil? Rather, it’s the tree of the KNOWLEDGE of good and evil. Why is this important?

The tree represents an alternative way of thinking … of knowing. You mean there are alternative ways of thinking? Yes. We can think (know) about good (God) and all that IS (truth). Or we can think (know) about NOT God and all that IS NOT (illusion, fear, envy, etc.). There is much more to come on this but let’s look at a quick example.

Fear. Let’s say you are afraid you might lose your job and your insides are all worked up over it. You know how this goes – your mind races with images of you in desperation, hungry, homeless, mistreated, cold, and on and on. Are any of these images real? Do they exist? Do they represent reality, truth? Perhaps your mind is venturing into the KNOWLEDGE of evil – into the realm of things that are NOT God and the result is fear.

1 John 4:8 (ESV)
⁸ Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:18 (ESV)
¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

Did you see that? A mind that is focusing on WHAT IS (love) is a mind that casts out fear. Fear is evidence of a mind that is focusing on WHAT IS NOT God.

 Are your thoughts going down the WHAT IS (good) path or the WHAT IS NOT (evil) path?

Are you thinking about what you’re thinking about?

It’s your choice.

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This tree has to be one of the most interesting and most misunderstood concepts in the Bible.

It is essential for you to get a proper understanding of what this tree is all about. If you miss it you will miss most everything else in the Bible.

It’s complicated and will therefore take a few posts. We’ll work through it by asking questions.

Is the tree good?

Yes. God created it and so from this we know it must be good.

Why is it good?

This my friend is where the misunderstandings begin. The tree is a gift. It’s God’s gift of free choice to mankind. It’s God giving man the ability to choose God (good) or NOT God (evil).

Hmmm. You mean it wasn’t a test of obedience? Wasn’t God testing Adam to see if he would obey?

No. It was a gift – an extremely loving but dangerous gift to the man and woman that God loved. Freedom is a dangerous thing. Just ask any parent of a driving teenager. I love my teenagers and one day I turned over the car keys to them for their first solo run. I could have said no you can’t drive by yourself because you might get hurt or hurt someone else. But I wanted them to have the gift of freedom and with it came the potential for great harm. You get the picture?

Didn’t God punish Adam for eating from the tree?

No. Man punished himself – shot himself in the foot, ate the poison, used his freedom to wreck the car.

Well why did God warn Adam not to eat from the tree?

For the same reason you would tell a child not to touch the stove - because you love them and don’t want them to get hurt.

That’s enough for one post. There is a bunch here so take some time and chew on it.

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