fearless, like much of what max lucado writes is very good. the book is filled with many good stories that help to paint clearly how we tend to deal with fear, but he also helps the reader to see that there exists a perspective that we need to work towards if we are going to live lives of wholeness.
Lucado reminds us in his story-telling voice that there are many agreements we make about our selves that is very far from the truth. So many people believe that they are abandoned to their plight and just have to work through it. early on lucado unpacks a key understanding of how God deals with our fears. Helping us to debunk what is a false understanding of our place in the Story. A key observation about fear…”if it is mismanaged,(fear)leads to sin. Sin leads to hiding. Since we’ve all sinned, we all hide, not in the bushes (as our first parents) but in eighty-hour work weeks, temper tantrums and religious busyness. We avoid contact with God.”
Lucado walks through many concepts of fear…God is ticked of at us, we’re not doing enough to protect our kids, our economic uncertianties, and the final idea…what do we do if things get worse? all very real and all ideas that many have or even now wrestling through.
the good thing is that Lucado helps us see that those ideas can be looked at from a radically new way if we simply grow in our love of Jesus. I love the quote he pulls a story from Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis…
Lucy sees Aslan, the lion, for the first time in many years. He has changed since their last encounter. His size surprsies her, and she tells him as much.
‘Aslan’ said Lucy ‘you’re bigger.’
‘That is because you are older, little one,’ answered he.
‘not because you are?’
‘I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”
And so it is with Christ. The longer we live in him, the greater he becomes in us. It’s not that he changes butw that we do.; we see more of him. We see dimensions, apsects, and characteristics we never saw before, increasing and astonishing increments of his purity, power, and uniqueness.
Lucado’s book is written with useful discussion questions for each chapter at the back of the book and would be an excellent small group study. The good folks at thomas nelson have also put together a few useful webtools to impact the message. You’ll want to check them out.
I was encouraged as i finished the book. My take away was when we see our God as a big God then our strength can overcome fear. I need to leave my small views behind and watch how God will use those elements of fear…those things we fear to help us trust Him more so that like little Lucy our view of God will grow and our fears disappear…because we grow.
Great Read! Get it.
Review Grade: A
No Fear Year Devotional Website http://nofearyear.com/fearless/
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