This is a pheromonal read! Shane has an uncanny ability to guide a reader into theological depths that usually have the tendency of swallowing unsuspecting ventures in the vastness that is theology. I've had the opportunity to hear Shane teach a couple of times in person, and I'm an avid listener to a lot of his work that he has available via his website, and one of the biggest qualities that stands out in his teaching (that you'll notice immediately in this book) is a humble heart passionately pursuing Jesus, along with the selfless pursuit of bringing others along on the journey.

In this book, Wood takes us back to place with which we are all oh so familiar with, the garden of Eden, and has us sit a while to take notice of the reality that maybe what happened there was MUCH worse than we ever thought. Not letting us sit for TOO long in this despairing revelation, Wood quickly follows with the encouragement that if this is true, then what God has done is SO MUCH GREATER than we ever thought as well! From this foundational element, Wood guides us along on a journey to rediscover the true depths of the gospel, and what it demands when we engage with it. Beyond simply a 'one and done' interaction, the gospel follows us, infuses us, and calls us to live out the scandalous reality we so willingly and gratefully embrace in terms of being saved by Jesus, within our own lives.

I am personally indebted to the scholarship and discipling work that Wood has produced over the years. He is known (and RIGHTFULLY so) for his amazing work that he's done with the book of Revelation. He shares that when he sat down to begin writing this book, he set out to write a book on how to read the book of Revelation. However as he prayerfully wrote and wrestled with the Scriptures, it morphed into a book on how the book of Revelation (and the rest of Scripture as a whole) reads us! This book is a MUST read about the glorious and powerful reality of transformation, from dead to alive, death to life, and lost sinner to embraced child of God! I highly recommend this book!

4 stars

Shane Wood has written a fantastic book delving into the book of Revelation, Genesis and Jesus' life. I really enjoyed this book and learned a great deal from it. I would recommend this book! I believe it would be great in a small group or bible study as well as for personal study. Woods writes in a way that is easy to read yet informative at the same time.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. The views given are my own. #BetweenTwoTrees #NetGalley

Thanks to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! I really enjoyed this book. It was so thought provoking and awe inspiring. It is beautifully written with so much truth but also with great wit and humor as well. It felt like I was having a conversation with a friend. I loved so many different parts of it. I loved the way it explains death and our union with it from the Fall and the first tree in the Garden of Eden. How we are so inclined to lean toward death. Death is ever at our door. But there is another tree, the tree of Life. I love the way he talked about "with" and how God desires to be with us. He doesn't want us to always do for him, he wants us to be with him. I am an introvert and quality time is my love language so this spoke volumes to my heart. It also isn't all. We do have works prepared in advance for us to do and that our purpose is to do those works. There was also the part of transformation. Wow! I loved how he talked about every decision we make is who we become. So there may be things in our life that we say, "is this so bad?", this one thing in and of itself may not be but every decision we make is part of our transformation and we are either becoming more like Christ or we are not. The chose is ours every single day. I am so glad to have had the chance to read this as it has given me pause to think on these things myself. Great book to encourage you in your walk with God.

Shane Wood has done a wonderful job of describing life as we now experience it. At the same time he offers great insight into what life is supposed to be, why it isn't that way and what God has done and is doing to restore life to the way it is supposed to be.

The great understanding of the concept of union is so insightful and more valuable than the price of the book. I am so glad that I made the decision to let Shane influence me through this book.