Worth Living: How God’s Wild Love for You Makes You Worthy

Worth Living: How God’s Wild Love for You Makes You Worthy May 9, 2016

As most of you know, Mary DeMuth was my co-author for my latest book, which was a bestseller. The Day I Met Jesus: The Revealing Diaries of Five Women from the Gospels hit the CBA bestseller list at #2 out of all books and #1 in Christian Living the month it released.

In the Preface of that book, I made the statement that Mary is the best Christian fiction writer on the planet. So if you read Christian fiction, you’ll want to get all her fiction titles.

Mary is also a superb non-fiction writer. (With respect to writing, she’s a switch hitter!)

She just released a great new book called Worth Living.

I caught up with Mary recently to discuss her new book.

Enjoy!

Instead of asking, “what is your book about,” I’m going to ask the question that’s behind that question. And that unspoken question is, “how are readers going to benefit from reading your book?”

Mary: They will begin to understand the lies they’ve believed about their worth so that they can counteract those lies with the truth about them—that they are wildly loved by God. My hope is that a reader will close the book closer to Jesus and more comfortable in their own skin.

What motivated you to write this book?

Mary: I have battled feelings of worthlessness most of my life. It’s been an ongoing struggle. Part of that was because of a traumatic childhood, and part of it was I started to believe lies about myself. I’ve fought my way back to understanding God’s affection for me. That journey became the book.

Tell us a bit about the experiences that shaped the insights in the book.

Mary: I have this insatiable desire to not only be free, but to also see others set free. The experiences that shaped this book were simply all the times I’ve ever spoken to audiences, then interacted with people afterward. This issue of worth/worthlessness comes up nearly every time. We don’t talk about it, but we all struggle with it in some way or another. So all those conversations and prayer sessions were the undergirding of the book—as well as the reason why I wrote it.

You can talk about this throughout the book, but sketch out briefly some of the things that make life worth living.

Mary: Knowing God loves me, REALLY loves me, makes my life (and your life) worth living. This is the bedrock truth we can build our lives on. But beyond that simple (and profound truth), I believe it’s other people and the impact we can have on them that makes life also worth living. Jesus made it simple when he reminded us to love God and love others. We have worth when we do and experience both.

Suppose you’re speaking to someone who has heard all their lives that God loves them. But deep down, they don’t believe it. Or they have doubts about it. Out of all the things that you discuss in the book about God’s love, what is the most powerful and moving thing you can tell this person to convince them that God wildly loves them?

Mary: First, I would say this: You are normal. Every Christian I’ve met has struggled with this. And there were many times I felt bad because I couldn’t grasp or feel his love. So I hear you, and I get it. What helped me was theology. The truth is God does love us. Whether I feel like it or not. Whether things are hard in my life or easy. And choosing to believe this love has revolutionized my life.

What do you hope readers will walk away with after they finish your book?

Mary: Renewal, plain and simple. Joy about life—joy so tangible it’s irresistible. Why? Because Jesus loves me, this I know.


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