A Tale Of Three Trees

4/23/2019

"Here is an invitation you can’t resist. Let’s venture into the forest together and discover, perhaps for the very first time, just how good life can be.” —Tim Savage

Book Review by Michael Goforth II:

In, Discovering the Good Life, Tim Savage comes right out of the gate with his purpose for writing the book. He wants to answer the question, “How do we find fullness of life in a world full of trouble?”

If we’re honest, we all want fullness of life. We all want to experience joy, peace, and satisfaction. The author puts his finger on this yearning when he says, “To be able to celebrate life without reservation and without regret—that is our greatest desire.”

But is that really possible? In a world full of pain and brokenness, can anyone really find true happiness? In this book, Savage answers that question with a definitive yes. And he is quick to point out that the answer does not come in a principle, it comes in a person. Namely, the Lord Jesus Christ.

To support this answer, Savage takes his readers on a riveting journey through the meta-narrative of Scripture. In poetic fashion, he weaves the Bible’s story into a tale of three trees:

-The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
-A Shoot from the Stump of Jesse
-The Tree of Life with Its Twelve Kinds of Fruit

These three trees unfold a narrative that gets consistently better over time, and Savage uses them to both explain our problem and point to our solution. In the process, he makes this fairly bold claim, “The three trees—these three only and these three together—restore hope to humanity.”

You might be thinking, “how can trees restore hope to humanity?” And that’s why you need to read the book.

Savage is a wonderful writer and I’m confident you’ll find this book both engaging and refreshing. Every time I had to put it down, I found myself looking forward to picking it back up again. And with only 176 pages, I was finished in just a few days.

My biggest takeaway from the book was his treatment of life as a verb instead of a noun. He puts it this way, “We define our lives in terms of people, places, and things—in terms of meeting people, visiting places, and accumulating things. We pursue life by pursuing nouns.”

This was convicting for me. In a culture built on consumerism, it is hard not to fall into this mindset. But life is so much more than nouns! Life is a verb, and “. . .it is only by giving ourselves away that we begin to truly live.”

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I would have enjoyed a little more practical application at the end, but I thought Savage did an excellent job showing that “discovering the good life" really is possible.

Jesus came to bring abundant life. And He laid down His life to make this possible. Are you experiencing this life today? Do you have the joy, peace, and satisfaction that only Jesus can offer?

If not, I want to encourage you to read this tale of three trees. With the author as your guide, go on this journey, and discover “the surprising riches available in Christ."

"What is so good about life? In Christ, it could not be better." —Tim Savage

Crossway has provided a complimentary copy of this book through the Blog Review Program. To learn more about this book or purchase a copy from Crossway's website, click HERE.