Book Review

BIOGRAPHICAL ENTRY

Lucado, Max, Cure for the Common Life. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2005, 220 pp.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF AUTHOR

Max Lucado has more than 100 million books in print. He is one of America’s most widely read authors. He and his wife, Denalyn, live in San Antonio, Texas, where he serves the Oak Hills Church. Visit his website at MaxLucado.com. Follow Max on Twitter: Twitter.com/MaxLucado.

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: Your Sweet Spot (You Have One!). In chapter 1 Lucado uses scripture, metaphors, and life examples to show that every person is created by God for a specific purpose that is uniquely different from other people. God gave us the skills and gifts so that we can make Him known. Your uniqueness is found at the intersection of your affections and successes. Lucado calls this “Your Sweet Spot.”

SECTION ONE: USE YOUR UNIQUENESS to make a big deal out of God every day of your life (chapters 2-5).

CHAPTER 2: UNPACK YOUR BAG: Most people are living out of the wrong bag that is filled with clothes that do not fit; and items suited for a different gender. We have been given the wrong bag by society from important people in our lives that want us to carry on certain traditions. You cannot be anything you want to be. But you can be everything God wants you to be.

CHAPTER 3: READ YOUR LIFE BACKWARD: We can find our uniqueness; our sweet spot by reading our life backward. We discover that the things that we did well and enjoyed as a child continue on the same path into our adulthood. God designed us for his purpose. He gives us our want to do and the ability to do. Moses, Paul, Billy Graham are examples of persons that followed God’s plan for their lives instead of the plans of other people.

CHAPTER 4: STUDY YOUR S.T.O.R.Y.: Each person must study their own story to learn who they are. You are the only you that God made. If you aren’t you we don’t get you. The world misses out. We study ourselves by asking five questions: What are your strengths; What is your topic; What are your optimal condition; What about relationships; and What makes you say Yes?

CHAPTER 5: DON’T CONSULT YOUR GREED: America is guided by greed; the desire for more. Greed is never having enough of what you have. Greed can seduce you out of your sweet spot, but referring to your story can help you to be content with what God has designed you to be. David faced Goliath refusing King Saul’s armor because it did not fit him. Success is not defined by position or pay scale but by this: doing the most what you do best.

SECTION 2: USE YOUR UNIQUENESS to make a big deal out of God every day of your life (chapters 6-10).

CHAPTER 6: TAKE BIG RISKS FOR GOD: How we use the gifts that God gives to us is based on the color that we paint Christ. How do we see Him? The parable of the talents shows us that Christ rewards risk. We must know His heart, and how we see Him and how we know Him to be determines if we use our talents to build the kingdom of God or if we hide the talents and gains nothing. God gives us talents according to our abilities to use them. We determine what we will do with what God gives to us.

CHAPTER 7: COME TO THE SWEETEST SPOT IN THE UNIVERSE: In chapter 7 we learn that God is with us personally. God sent prophets, teachers, and other leaders to instruct us and guide us. Then Immanuel came. God with us came in the person of Jesus Christ. He became one with us and paid the price for our sins that separated us from God. When we become God’s child he makes available to us the prepared gifts and abilities that we need to do our part in making God known in the world. God, like a dad takes care of our needs before we know that we have them.

CHAPTER 8: APPLAUD GOD, LOUD AND OFTEN: We suffer from poor I-sight. We go from one extreme to the other thinking too highly of ourselves and thinking too low of ourselves. The proper view of self is in the middle, and accomplished through worship of God. Worship is giving honor to God and it is in everything that we do. We worship God because He deserves to be worshiped. God would die for our sins before he’d let us die in our sin.

CHAPTER 9: JOIN GOD’S FAMILY OF FRIENDS: God offers you a family of friends and friends that are family—his church. We are adopted into God’s family through Jesus that will live forever. Friendships are created from similar experiences. The church is God’s poetry and individual members are given gifts to serve so that the body can be strengthened and healed when broken

CHAPTER 10: TANK YOUR REPUTATION: We may have acquaintances that are Christians that we do not consider to be cool. Our parents take us to church but we value people’s opinion of us more than God. When we commit to Christ our reputation is at stake. We cannot promote two reputations. We choose between God’s reputation and our own reputation. Joseph abandoned his reputation in the community and promoted God’s reputation by marrying Mary who was pregnant by the Spirit with the Son of God. Joseph called His name Jesus; the name known among thousands of Christians.

SECTION THREE: EVERY DAY OF YOUR LIFE:

CHAPTER 11: TAKE YOUR JOB AND LOVE IT: In chapter 11 the author contrasts the work of Jesus with the work of Peter. Jesus’ work is fruitful, and Peter’s work is futile. Most people are in Peter’s crowd. In Luke 5 Jesus provides an answer for frustrated workers. Jesus showed Peter and us that our work is His work. Work is as important as worship, and work can be worship. Everything changes when you give you work to God.

CHAPTER 12: PAUSE ON PURPOSE: We must stay in our sweet spot. To do so we must review our S.T.O.R.Y. so that we can focus on what we do best and enjoy most. We cannot allow others to tell us what our purpose is. We must be intentional about our sweet spot; omitting things that others want us to do so that we can do what we ought to do. Christ gives us the example. Christ repeatedly escaped the noise of the crowd in order to hear the voice of God. We must put our life on pause for the purpose of rest and solitude.

CHAPTER 13: TRUST LITTLE DEEDS: Jesus told the parable of the mustard seed and the yeast to illustrate to us that God uses the smallest deeds to accomplish the greatest feats in life. We cannot imagine how God will use our small deeds to accomplish His purpose. Just do something and see what happens.

CHAPTER 14: DECODE YOUR KID’S CODE: Parents are to train their children in the way. This means that parents create a thirst in the child to go the way of their inherent characteristics and inborn distinctiveness. Parents do not have the right to ultimately control the child’s life because the child’s sweet spot is a calling of God. Parents who want to train their child correctly will discover the bent of the child that God has set. Joseph the carpenter didn’t find his son among carpenters, but among teachers of faith and interpreters of the Torah. The son of a carpenter displayed the heart of a rabbi. God didn’t give parents manuscripts to write, but codes to decode.

CHAPTER 15: DON’T BE TOO BIG TO DO SOMETHING SMALL: God’s cure for the common life includes a strong dose of servanthood. Jesus’ purpose statement reads: “For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). Don’t be so focus on what you love to do that you neglect what needs to be done. Servanthood requires no unique skill or seminary degree. This means that sometimes we do something that we don’t want to do; Jesus did not want the cross, but He went to the cross because it was what was needed.

CONCLUSION: SWEET SPOTS: TWO PEOPLE WHO FOUND THEIRS: Rich Stearns from Syracuse lived in a disturbed home. He made a decision. “My parents can’t help me. If I make it, I’ll make it on my own.”Rich entered college and became a business executive. Rich left the business world and became CEO of World Vision a ministry that championed the cause of the poor worldwide. Lori Neal went from athletes to interior designs and decorating. She found her God given purpose in working with her hands. Don’t see yourself as a product of your parent’s DNA, but rather as a brand-new idea from heaven.

SWEET SPOT DISCOVERY GUIDE: This discovery guide was developed by People Management International, Inc. and Steve Haliday. The remainder of the book includes two sections to help discover what God has given to each person. Discovering what God gave you is the first step toward curing the common life.

Part One: THE FIRST STEP TOWARD FINDING YOUR SWEET SPOT: This first part of the discovery guide leads each person to discover their uniqueness; their sweet spot. This section is designed for individual use in recalling past experiences starting in childhood. You find your sweet spot at the intersection of success and satisfaction.

Part Two: NEXT STEPS TO FINDING YOUR SWEET SPOT: The second section of the study guide works hand in hand with sections 2 and 3 of the “Cures for the Common Life.” The study questions focus on three areas to help you to interact with the main point of each chapter; questions to help you interact with key Scripture passages on the topic of discussion; and an application sections to help integrate what you discovered in your S.T.O.R.Y. with the main focus of each chapter in order to bring passion and excitement to your life and faith.

CRITICAL EVALUATION

In “Cure for the common Life” author MaxLucado gives us a tool to guide us to discover who we are in God and Christ Jesus. This book will help the reader to discover how to live their best life. We live our best life when we learn that God has made each person unique and distinct from all other people. This book helps us to learn how to find our Sweet Spot by reviewing our life story beginning in our childhood. God gives us gifts so that we can live out God’s plan for our life. Our purpose and uniqueness is not hereditary. God did not create us to be a copy of our parents.

Lucado uses the scriptures so that we can learn that this guide is based on the word of God. The reader of this book will discover that following God’s plan for their life leads to a more successful and satisfying life even though God’s plan does not necessarily lead to success and status according to world standards. We can be small in the eyes of the world, but have satisfaction in knowing that we are being who God wants us to be. Our work becomes our worship.

The book is divided into three sections. Section One shows us how to use our uniqueness. Section Two shows us how using our uniqueness makes a big deal out of God. Section Three helps us to use our uniqueness every day of our life. At the end of the book is a study guide with activities that helps the individual and groups to apply what was learned in the previous chapters. The book is well written and Lucado uses scripture to effectively support his claims.