Book Review: Outlive Your Life

Fourteen words from the back cover of the book immediately caught my attention. I quote them, "These are devastating times: 1.75 billion people are desperately poor; one billion are hungry." The book is Outlive Your Life: you were made to make a difference, ISBN 978-0-8499-4668-4 (IE). The author is Max Lucado.


Outlive Your Life is a call to Christianity to write the conclusion of the book of Acts. Max Lucado weaves the call to Christ-like service into the actions and activities of the apostles and the first Christians. There were no needy people among them. They gave and shared what they possessed. Jesus was moved with compassion for those in need and responded with action. I quote for us from the closing chapter, "Salvation is the work of Christ. Compassion is the consequence of salvation." The message of the book can be summed up with this quote from chapter 7, See the Need; Touch the Hurt, "Works done in God's name long outlive our earthly lives."


The numbers given on the back cover of the book of the poor and hungry are overwhelming. Feeding the hungry and helping those in need is a passion of mine. It's seeing those who are suffering through the eyes of Jesus Christ. The author laces Outlive Your Life with Scripture. Christ came with a mission statement straight from Scripture (Isaiah 61:1-2).  Jesus read it and I quote from chapter 10 of Outlive Your Life, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed (Luke 4:18)." I come away from reading this book with the thought that if Jesus did it, shouldn't we?


Max Lucado has a style of writing which I describe as "seamless". The words flow from one sentence to the next, from one chapter to the next. The message of the book is given in a clear, easy to read and easy to understand manner. The call to Christian action the author puts forward in this book is highly appropriate for our current time. Oil prices are rising increasing the cost to produce food. It's inevitable, food prices will also rise. The body of Christ is positioned perfectly to put it's faith into action. I highly recommend this book to any who have a desire, an unction to do something for Christ. However, in the words of James, "be doers of the word, and not hearers only (James 1:22)."


I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

A Good Samaritan

"Go then and make disciples of all the nations (Mt. 28:19 AMP)."

I read an article about the death of a homeless man this morning. The man lost his life trying to intervene in a domestic dispute. The portion I read telling how seven people walked away from a dying man pierced my heart.

You might be asking, "What's this have to do with Matthew 28:19?" Hold on and I'll get there.

Nearly all are familiar with the parable of the Good Samaritan found in Luke 10:30-37. We all nod our heads in agreement when we hear it spoken that we are to love our neighbors. We all are quick to condemn the priest and the Levite in the story of the Good Samaritan.

How many of us, myself included, will quickly pass judgment on the seven people who walked away from the dying man in the news article? How many of us, including myself, will quickly condemn them to eternal damnation for their lack of concern and compassion? Yet, how can we, myself included, lay a claim to innocence?

Are we not all guilty of the same indifference, lack of concern, and lack of compassion? Souls are passing into eternity every day. People are around us every day who are hurting, dying inside by the troubles and trials of life. Are we not guilty of walking away from them in their time of desperation?

We're there now. Allow me to bring in the command of Christ to go and make disciples (Mt. 28:19). We have a commanded duty as Christians to share the Gospel wherever we're at. That's what the word go means in Matthew 28:19. 

We're surrounded by dying souls, laying face down in the ditches of sin. How can we stand and render judgment on seven people who walked away when we do the same thing by not sharing the Gospel?

O God, we need Christians who are willing to speak the Word. Who, Lord, who is crying for the lost? Who, Lord, who weeps for the hungry? Who, Lord, who hurts for the poor? Who, Lord, who is breaking for the broken? Who, Lord God, who is willing to give all to reach one lost soul? God bless...