Books by Max Lucado can be picked up and not put down until I’ve finished them. Fearless is no exception. The cover alone invokes the carefree days of childhood. Don’t we all wish we’d realized just how easy life was before we had to grow up? Well I sure do!
The statistics in the book are staggering. For example, “ordinary children today are more fearful than psychiatric patients were in the 1950s.” and “For the first time since the end of the Second World War, parents expect that life for the next generation will be worse than it was for them.” and “Reporter Bob Garfield tracked health articles in major publications and discovered that, among other health issues, 59 million Americans have heart disease, 53 million Americans have migraines, 25 million Americans have osteoporosis, 16 million struggle with obesity, 3 million have cancer and 2 million have severe brain disorders. Reportedly, in total, 543 million Americans consider themselves to be seriously sick, a troubling figure since there are 266 million people in the country. As Garfield noted, ‘Either as a society we are doomed, or someone is seriously double-dipping.’”
I myself struggle with fear. Every day, for reasons that can’t be explained I fear the unknown, the “what ifs”, the “if onlys” just to name a few. I am scared to death and don’t know what to do about it. That’s why I picked up Lucado’s book:I want to but can’t imagine my life without fear. In short, fear defines who I am. But that’s about to change. God gives us a “formula”, if you will, for dealing with our doubts and fears: focus on what He’s already done and get surrounded by those in His family.
The part of the book that stood out the most to me was in the chapter titled, “Caffeinated Life”. It addresses the question of “what’s next”. Here’s an excerpt from the end of that chapter that opened my eyes to a new way of looking at unexplained hardship here on earth. Of course we can’t know if this is accurate, but we are all looking for a bit of hope in our dark valleys, so I clung to the words.
“...what about the tragic [events] God permits?...do such moments serve a purpose?
They do if we see them from an eternal perspective. What makes no sense in this life
will make perfect sense in the next. I have proof:you in the womb. I know you don’t
remember this prenatal season, so let me remind you what happened during it. Every
gestational day equipped you for your earthly life. Your bones solidified, your eyes
developed, the umbilical cord transported nutrients into your growing frame...for what
reason? So you might remain enwombed? Quite the contrary. Womb time equipped
you for earth time, suited you up for your postpartum existence. Some prenatal features
went unused before birth. You grew a nose but didn’t breathe. Eyes developed, but could
you see? Your tongue, toenails, and crop of hair served no function in your mother’s belly.
But aren’t you glad you have them now? Certain chapters of this life seem so unnecessary,
like nostrils on the preborn. Suffering. Loneliness. Disease. Holocausts. Martyrdom.
Monsoons. If we assume this world exists just for pregrave happiness, these atrocities
disqualify it from doing so. But what if this earth is the womb? Might these challenges,
severe as they may be, serve to prepare us, equip us for the world to come?”
I give the book a thumbs up! In fact, I hope to add it to my own book collection. Read it, then tell me what you think!