Outlive Your Life

Lucado, Max. Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make a Difference. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010.

In true inspiring Lucado style, this book is Do Hard Things for grown-ups.  The author's basic point?  There are a lot of hurting people out there, and God wants us to minister to them.  By meeting people's basic needs, we can open a door to sharing the Gospel with them.

Lucado doesn't guilt the reader with scores of statistics or make the reader feel as if she is wholly responsible for solving all the world's problems.  On the contrary, Lucado makes the point that God has created each person with specific gifts, talents, abilities, and concerns for certain groups of people.  Not everyone is comfortable helping the homeless, working with battered women, or caring for AIDS orphans in Africa.  But someone is. And each person should do what he or she has been uniquely gifted to do.

Each chapter contains several examples of people who are changing their worlds.  There is also a discussion guide at the end, best used if this book becomes a small group study or a book club book.  Overall, this book was a good read, inspiring me without making me feel guilty that I can't solve all the world's problems.  I may not be able to do that, but I can donate a coat to foster kids or volunteer with my church to serve food at a shelter. 

Lucado's point - that we all can and all should make a difference by helping those around us - was well thought-out and explained without becoming overly preachy or self-righteous.  This is a good book to purchase and pass around, or to add to the church library.

I received a complimentary copy of this book for the purposes of review.