"Max on Life" by Max Lucado

"I seem to work more and more these days.  Could this negatively affect my family?"


"How should a Christian react to poverty?"


"How could a loving God send people to Hell?"


"If God knew all along that Jesus would rise from the dead three days later, then how was His death really considered a sacrifice?"

Questions.  We all run into them from time to time.  Some are easy to answer.  Some are much tougher.

As Christians, we are on the receiving end of these types of questions, and Max Lucado's new book, "Max on Life," aims to answer them.

As a pastor whose ministry reaches far beyond the walls of his church, questions such as these have been directed his way for decades, and Lucado hopes to provide us with some answers.  This book follows the typical Q&A format.  Presented at the top of the page is the question, and his answer, usually less than one page in length, follows underneath.  The questions are categorized as follows:

1. Hope: God, Grace, and "Why am I Here?"
2. Hurt: Conflicts, Calamities, and "Why me?"
3. Help: Prayer, Scripture, and "Why church?"
4. Him/Her: Sex, Romance, and "Any chance of a second chance?"
5. Home: Diapers, Disagreements, and "Any hope for prodigals?"
6. Haves/Have-Nots: Work, Money, and "Where's the lifeline?"
7. Hereafter: Cemeteries, Heaven, Hell, and "Who goes where?"       

He even graciously includes writing tips, along with references, a topical index, and finally, a scripture index.

Unfortunately, I cannot say that I enjoyed this book.  I did not find it to be very reader-friendly, as it literally changed topics with each flip of the page.  And with this book containing 172 questions, I found that there was too much information and not enough time to process it, especially if you're looking to read for the sake of reading.  I was not expecting the book to be in this format.

But enough time spent on the technical merit of the book.  Let's get into the meat of it.

Naturally, I did not agree with everything he said on a doctrinal level.  For example, one questions deals with life's exhaustion leaving us no strength to pray, and whether or not God is disappointed in us for not praying.  He mentions that Jesus is our advocate and He steps up on our behalf, even when we don't.  I don't disagree with this.  But he goes on to say that, "God is not disappointed that we are so burdened we can't pray."  Key word: can't.  


So exhaustion and life's burdens render us unable to pray?  No.  "God, I'd like to talk with you today, but I'm too tired.  Maybe tomorrow, after I get some rest."  While we go through trying times, times where we can easily think that God isn't present, I don't believe it's okay to use trials (that God's in charge of, and that He's allowing us to go through) as an excuse to skip praying.  Especially when those are the times we need to lean on God the most.  Choosing not to pray when we're exhausted is, in my opinion, selfish.  And scripture is clear that life's not about us.  (I'm not sure if he intended it this way, but that's the way I took it.)

Also, while he uses scripture as a basis for nearly answer (which is great), he tends to use stories and analogies to answer the questions instead of directly answering them.  And I feel that he left some tough questions unanswered by doing this.  I know he doesn't claim to know the answer to everything - none of us do - but why include it in your book if you aren't going to attempt to answer it?  This, in my opinion, tends to water things down in an attempt to make scripture warm and fuzzy.

So, to wrap up, I really didn't enjoy the book.  The format isn't what I was expecting, but I can't fault a book for not doing something it wasn't intended to do, just like I can't fault a cat for not being a dog (gotta love analogies).  And I feel that he could have gone more in depth, but instead chose to water it down so more people would read it.

I didn't hate this book, but I didn't love it either.  3 out of 5 stars.  

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”