It is said of the Torah;
'She is a tree of life to all who grasp her, and those who support her are praiseworthy.'
(Proverbs 3:18)
And in Genesis it says;
'ADONAI, God, said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"'
(Genesis 3:22)
I always thought of it as meaning we would live a more fulfilled life here in this world. But my mom and I talked a bit, and we realized that it has an even more complete meaning. Taking and eating from the tree of life, or being obedient to God by obeying his Torah (which includes the Living Torah), has eternal life as its reward. In James 2:24 it tells us that 'A man is justified by works and not by faith alone.' So you see, what we do is equally as important as what we believe. The two go hand in hand. A person can believe in the Messiah, but if he does not strive to be like Him, then he does not show himself to be justified. Our works show our faith. If we believe in the Messiah, and eat of, grasp, and support the tree of life, then we will live forever in the arms of our Savior.
Sincerely,
Miss S.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
1 comment:
Feel free to leave a comment. I have chosen to moderate all comments I receive, so if your comment doesn't appear within 36 hours of your posting it, these are a few possible reasons why.
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2. It was rude or vulgar.
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Sincerely,
Miss S.
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You've hit upon a potentially "hot-button" for many people. Justification in God's eyes is His gift to us by His grace. The works we do are prepared by Him. The key to your post is in understanding HOW we come to understand what those works entail. How others see the fruit of our connection to Him or the fruit of our faith is demonstrated by what we do. We are to shine the light of Messiah in a darkened world. We shine that light based upon the provisions (tree of life) that God provides! We live our lives not based upon "what is right in our own eyes" but upon what our God has declared to be good, acceptable, and perfect. The wisdom and teachings of God are our guide - a lamp unto our feet!
ReplyDeleteLove you,
Papa