You the Gardener

Shalom Fellow Israelite,

“And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works” (Colossians 1:21).  

What are these wicked works that come from the mind of man, and from where do they originate?  Yeshua said that they come from the heart of a man: “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man” (Mark 7:21-23). 

As we know, when Adam was created the evil nature was not part of his inner being. Furthermore, Man was created in the image and likeness of the Creator and along with the rest of creation, was pronounced to be “very good”(Genesis 1:31)  All this occurred before Elohim planted the garden in which He placed the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (as well as the Tree of Life). Had that not been the case, we would have had to ask: How could He have declared anything that was evil to be “very good”?

YHVH ordered Adam not to eat of the deadly fruit of that tree.  Adam and Eve, of course, disobeyed the Almighty’s first commandment and suffered the consequences, as did all of their progeny.  The deception that led to their rebellion was in the form of a very simple question: “Did Elohim say…?”  Satan planted a seed called “doubt,” followed by a punch line: “For Elohim knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like Elohim, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5 emphasis added).  The great deception was countering the fact that Adam and Eve were already in the image and likeness of Elohim; they did not have to become “like” Him.  Satan’s small lie mushroomed into gigantic results, and Man began to take on the image and likeness of another spiritual entity.  Man’s heart/spirit became joined to the spirit realm of darkness and came under the dominion of Satan’s rule and authority. The human mind now kowtowed to Satan’s thoughts. Thus, we all were “once alienated and enemies in our mind by wicked works.”  I’m sure that by now you are saying “I already know this and that is why our minds have to be renewed, “and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of  your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of Elohim” (Romans 12:2).  But how do we do that?

 Recently I watched a DVD on the anatomy of the brain by Dr. Caroline Leaf.  That DVD is more than just a teaching on the physiology of the brain, it is also about the way that thoughts and emotions influence the brain and build memory.  Within the largest part of our brain, called the cerebrum, are millions of little dendrite trees.  These trees grow through a process of protein synthesis, and basically are develop and fed by every thought, every emotion, and every experience throughout life.  It is, in fact, a “garden” filled with trees.  In unregenerate man, whose nature is still tied to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil from which he is fed, the cerebrum is thus made up of trees whose roots are connected to the original tree that YHVH said not to eat of.  Hence there are trees that look “good” having grown up from positive thoughts, feelings and experiences. But there are also trees that have been cultivated by bad or evil thoughts, feelings and experiences and they too come to ‘fruition’ in situations and relationships.

We, who have been redeemed by the life/blood of Yeshua, and through His death died to sin and have been reconciled to Elohim, have a new life in our innermost being (heart or spirit).  Now through this new creation life we are able to raise up trees of righteousness from the root of the Tree of Life.   The more we experience the Word of Elohim in thought, word and deed, the more we stop feeding the old trees of “good and evil” which then begin to wither and die. We, like Adam in the beginning, are assigned to tend the garden and are given another opportunity, under the guidance of the Spirit of Holiness, to grow and nurture new protein trees in the garden of our natural mind and brain.

In an exhortation to Egypt YHVH asks this question:  “To which of the trees in Eden will you then be likened in glory and greatness?” (Ezekiel 31:18).  Perhaps we can apply this query to ourselves: Which tree will we be likened to in glory and greatness, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil or the Tree of Life? Let us not be deceived by the temptation to doubt YHVH’s Word, and lust after the lushness that may be produced by the “forbidden tree.”

^“Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before YHVH. For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with His truth” (Psalm 96:12-13).

Ephraim