Review -- Max Lucado: For The Tough Times

This is my first review for Thomas Nelson's great new program for book reviews. They send you a book, you read it and then you write a review for it. The first book I received was Max Lucado's For the Tough Times: Reaching Toward Heaven for Hope. All things being equal, I would not normally buy a book like this. It is a small devotional book designed to give to people who are having a difficult time - facing their own death or the death of a loved one; accidents and injuries; illness; disasters and essentially whatever befalls us that causes us to question God and what God is doing to or for us.

Lucado is very talented at taking complex theological issues and making them accessible. He does this very well in this little book. At times, his writing is very poetic and emotionally provocative. At others, I had the sense he was being intentionally "homey" or colloquial in order to access anyone and everyone. Overall, Lucado is far more effective when he is being poetic than when he is being colloquial.

As a pastor, I noticed some very effective and inspiring turns of phrase. When Lucado speaks of God coming to earth as Jesus Christ, of God "taking on skin" for our sake, he relates a conversation with his daughter and her confusion as to why he is being so "weird" as he tells her how special she is to him. The comparison is between the love of a parent for a child and God and God's love for us. As a parent, we are for our children in every possible way. God is for us in a similar but far deeper and more mysterious way. We tilt our heads and wonder what is up: "Neither Mary nor Joseph said it as bluntly as my Sara (Lucado's daughter), but don't you think their heads tilted and their minds wondered, What in the world are you doing, God? Or, better phrased, God, what are you doing in the world?" (pg 20).

There were parts I struggled with theologically in this book. I am not sure that it is particularly comforting for a person who has lost a loved one in tragedy or violence to hear that God is in charge of everything, whether good or evil. Lucado maintains a strong and solid "Calvinist" vision throughout, which I have some admiration for, against my better judgment. Essentially, God allows evil to exist, "God will actually allow a person to experience hell on earth, in hopes of awakening his faith" (pg 42). I hesitate to validate this position. On the level of pastoral care and being a leader of a congregation, this is not an answer. This is doctrine. Another doctrine that works for evil, aside from God being ultimately responsible for good and evil alike (not unBiblical, according to the Prophets), is the actions of Satan, or the satanic for the less literal, in the world. The "cosmic and spiritual warfare" position has its own comfort as well in the face of death and evil. That position has issues as well. I give Lucado credit for being very clear and concise in his expression of his "Calvinist" position, but ultimately I don't think it speaks well to the human experience of death and evil as it relates to Christ's suffering on the cross.

Lucado is very strong in his call for us to listen more and speak less. He uses Job as the classic example. Job talks and talks, but does not really listen well to God, until the end when God assails Job with question after question about the power and greatness of God's work. Then Job is silent. He has no argument to counter God. Particularly in times of trouble, it is perhaps the most difficult time to just listen. God often speaks in the still, small whisper. Silence can be our best friend in times of trouble. But so can a good argument with God, which God does not turn away from (see Exodus, Isaiah and Jonah for examples).

Heaven is a comfort to the living who believe, as I do, in our reunion with Christ and those who go before us. But it is not for those who are on the edge of faith. We may need to back up our discussion significantly before discussing the comfort and promise of eternal life with someone faced with tragedy and a massive faith crisis. For a small section of my church population, I would recommend this book in a time of trouble. For most, though, I would send them to other books that take very seriously the human experience of suffering. The first that comes to mind is St John of the Cross' The Dark Night of the Soul.
Peace!
Pastor Seth