Max Lucado's new book, "Outlive Your Life: You Were Made To Make A Difference" is based on the promise of Acts 1:8: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witness in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
God used ordinary men, the disciples, to share the Gospel to the ends of the earth. The Book of Acts is their story, the story of the early church. Lucado reminds us to have the same radical servanthood as the disciples in our present world.
Lucado does a fantastic job of giving examples of how we can bless people in our Jerusalems with hospitality. One of the many interesting things that I learned in the book is that "hospital" has the same root in Latin as "hospitality" because it means "healing". When we invite someone in our home we are offering healing in that person's life, by showing them that they are worthy and accepted.
In addition to ministering in our own “Jerusalems”, we have the opportunity to show the love of Christ to the ends of the earth. With the many technological advances in the modern world, we are no longer limited geographically. And yet despite these "advances", there are millions of people who are starving and dying of diseases that are preventable.
It is an easy trap for us to believe the lie that we are helpless to do anything for those in need. The truth is God has created each of us with a passion, and through His Holy Spirit (and power) in our lives, we can serve and make a difference.
People often hypothetically ask themselves what would they have done during WWII when the Jews were persecuted: Would I have been a Corrie Ten Boom? Would I have stood up for what I knew to be right? Most of us hope that we would have been faithful to do what we knew was right then. Today, we live in the richest nation in the world and we have been given so much; are we being faithful to do what is right, today?
This was a BookSneeze Review- I freely expressed my own opinion of this book! :-)
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