Cast of Characters by Max Lucado

Have you ever felt as though you were unable to do anything right?  Ever wondered if God made a mistake when He created you.....not sure that you REALLY had a purpose for being?  I suspect that if we are honest, we have all struggled with these questions at some point in our lives.  It can be incredibly frustrating when we feel as though we are nothing more than common....and that sometimes feels like a stretch.  In his book Cast of Characters, New York Times best-selling author Max Lucado explores the impact that some common people have had on their world when they came in contact with their powerful God. 

Many of the chapter titles read like a hall of fame of Scripture:  Matthew, Lazarus, Moses, Joseph, David, and Esther.  By exploring the lives of these common characters at their points of exhibiting great human frailty, doubt, fear, and crises of faith, Lucado teaches that no one is worthless when they willingly place their lives in the hands of a loving God.  Consider the implications of this powerful paragraph from the book's concluding chapter:

     The reassuring lesson is clear.  God used (and uses!) people to change the world.  People!  Not saints or superhumans or geniuses, but people.  Crooks, creeps, lovers, and liars -- he uses them all.  And what they may lack in perfection, God makes up for in love. (Lucado, 220)

As you begin to make your resolutions for the New Year and dream of how things can be different, I encourage you to pick up a copy of Cast of Characters and allow your Heavenly Father to remind you of what He can do in the lives of common people like you and me who place themselves willingly in the hands of an uncommon God.