Every now and then one of those books comes along that you wish you could share with everyone. Wrecked: When a Broken World Slams into your Comfortable Life
is one of those books. I think author Jeff Goins is aiming at the 18 to 30 year old crowd but, as someone about to have a milestone birthday, I was impacted as well. In his introduction, Pastor Pete Wilson said of Wrecked, “There is a life that most of us dream of living. Chances are you won’t drift into that life. But there are some clear choices you can make along the way to set yourself up to receive all that God has for you. Jeff does a masterful job of gracefully yet purposely helping us take the steps of faith so many of us need to take.”
Society is full of people living, working, raising families, living life. If we were to ask probing questions, though, many people would admit that they know that there is more to life than what they are experiencing. They might even say that they feel that they were created for something bigger, that there is something more than what they have found so far. As Goins says, “We sense we were made for a great purpose, some cause to make the world a better place. Maybe it’s as simple as the realization that our lives aren’t a total waste, or maybe there is something more. Whatever the case, most of us despair of ever finding it. It feels so distant, so unattainable.”
The title of the book requires a little explanation. Goins describes the experience of being “wrecked” as having an experience that pulls us out of our comfort zone. His own wrecked experience came through his contact with the homeless. As he met, befriended and began to help the homeless in his city, he came to understand that he had believed a lie. Like the rest of us, Goins had bought into the lie that life was all about him. As he began to serve others, this lie was exposed and he began to understand that we find our purpose and greatest fulfillment in life as we serve others.
Being wrecked is not an easy process. It involves pain. However, “you can’t find your life’s purpose if you aren’t willing to embrace discomfort and join others in their suffering.” Wrecked is Jeff Goins’ story. He is a staff writer for Adventures in Missions and his book also includes the stories of how some of his friends found their life-callings through serving a cause bigger than themselves. Goins never makes the reader feel guilty but he does do an excellent job of challenging us and making us think about what is important. Pick up a copy of Wrecked or download it. But don’t stop there. Let us embrace the idea of having our comfortable lives shaken up a bit. We might just find what we have been searching for all along.
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