BookTuesday: Max on Life

Just like last week, BookTuesday is making a special Monday appearance. Thomas Nelson Publishers has a good April going, with last week's release of Andy Andrews' The Final Summit and then this week's special release. What is this week's?

It is the latest book from Max Lucado, Max on Life. Here's a picture of the cover and the expected Amazon.com link:

Max On Life: Answers and Insights to Your Most Important Questions

This book is a departure from the typical Max Lucado fare. If you've typically read Max Lucado, you've seen him illustrate the 23rd Psalm, the story of the Crucifixion, and the return of Christ. He typically writes inspirational stories to illuminate specific passages of Scripture, and he does it well. The departure here is that Max on Life is a collection of answers to letters and questions. 

In total, there are 172 questions with one to two page answers for each of them. Lucado reports these as real questions that have been posed to him. By summarizing the letters and conversations, these become anonymous for the reader. 

Which serves two purposes quite well. The first is protecting the privacy of the writers. More than that, though, it allows the reader to find themselves in any question. There are some questions that may not apply now, but they might someday.

Is there anything lacking here? This book is like a public view of personal correspondence. While Lucado presents varied Scriptural stories, he doesn't answer them with a sermon or outline, and not often with a direct Scripture quote. This isn't bad, because Lucado still handles the issues from a Scriptural viewpoint. However, chapter and verse aren’t frequently present.

This is precisely what this book is intended for, though: a presentation of a God-centered viewpoint on the diverse questions people have. Questions that don’t really have a direct verse answer but need a good one.

I found this to be practical and helpful read.