Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado

Title: Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make a Difference
Author: Max Lucado
Released: September 14, 2010
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Pages/format: 240 (Hardcover)
Source: Booksneeze

Quick Synopsis: In Outlive Your Life, bestselling author Max Lucado challenges readers to start making a difference in the world by becoming the hands and feet of Jesus to the poor, sick, and helpless around the globe.

Long Description:

These are difficult days in our world’s history. 1.75 billion people are desperately poor, natural disasters are gouging entire nations, and economic uncertainty still reigns across the globe. But you and I have been given an opportunity to make a big difference. What if we did? What if we rocked the world with hope? Infiltrated all corners with God’s love and life? We are created by a great God to do great works. He invites us to outlive our lives, not just in heaven, but here on earth. In Outlive Your Life, bestselling author Max Lucado challenges readers to become the hands and feet of Jesus in a hurting world.

Quick Review: Using his incredible gift as a storyteller, Max Lucado challenges readers to care for the poor around them and succeeds at communicating deep theological truths in a light and loving way.

Long Review:

Max Lucado’s Outlive Your Life is a fast read consisting of sixteen short chapters which start with a Bible verse and end with a slightly longer Bible passage and prayer. The book follows the adventures of the first century church while focusing on a specific story from Acts in each chapter. For example, chapter nine, which talks about doing good in secret, tells the story of Ananias and Sapphira from Acts 5. The central theme of the book is that Western Christians should turn outward from self and start opening themselves up to the suffering of the world and doing what they can to obey Jesus’ commands to care for those who cannot care for themselves. (Other books that share this common theme are Radical by David Platt and Crazy Love by Francis Chan.)

Max Lucado’s prose is light and lyrical, in keeping with his other books. His style is that of a storyteller, not a theologian, which is precisely what he is best loved for. I love how he brings the stories of Acts to life with imaginative metaphors, modern dialogue, and descriptive word pictures. He speaks challenging truths in a gentle, loving manner, and illustrates his teaching points with real life stories (aside from those in the Bible).

Max uses a variety of different Bible translations throughout the book, a fact which some Amazon reviewers have noted disparagingly. I usually prefer it when authors stick to one or two translations, but since Lucado’s focus is on telling a story more than writing a theological work, his use of loose, more descriptive translations (such as The Message) doesn’t bother me.

At the end of the book there is a discussion guide which readers will find useful, either individually or in a group setting, in helping to practically apply the book’s message. The prayers at the end of each chapter are also helpful in this area.

About Max Lucado:

Max Lucado is a New York Times bestselling author of over fifty books and the pastor of the Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas. He and his wife, Denalyn, have three grown daughters–Jenna, Andrea, and Sara; one son-in-law, Brett; and one sweet but lazy golden retriever, Molly.