"You Were Never Meant to Do It All" by Kelly Kapic. A Review

 
While strolling around in the exhibit hall during our denomination's General Assembly, I happily came across the booth for Covenant College. They were freely handing out copies of Kelly M. Kapic's new 176-page hardback, "You Were Never Meant to Do It All". Forty days worth of readings that "pay attention to the most neglected aspect of our good creaturely existence - our appropriate limits" (3). Each day includes 850 words or less, and then ends with reflective questions to aid readers and reading groups to find ways to be shaped by the material that day. The driving theme brings us to recognize our God-created, creaturely limits, and ask ourselves daily: are we required to overcome those "perceived shortcomings" (7)?

Since God, from the very beginning, made us to be a dependent people, who because of our creatureliness are vulnerable (140-142), we have limits. And God even went so far as to say it was all very good! Therefore, we are not expected by God to be omnicompetent, omniscient, omnipotent, etc. Those are God's characteristics. But coming to see our own finitude is part of our faithfulness, and being faithful in our finitude is what we were made to be. "Our finitude is not a sin" (12)! Oh, what a breathe of fresh air this book was for a busy, energizer bunny minister!

Of all the subjects I could highlight (and there are a number), here are three that made me smile. First, we're to take a look at our belly buttons. Why? Because it is a physical reminder that we are not a self-made people, but we are creatures, 'creations' of a mother and father, and thus life is a gift to be received. This includes our bodies, sex, hair color, and more. Gifts to be received, not problems to be overcome. Second, we should come to perceive that problems and frustrations in life coexist with God's gifts. As we do so, we grow in biblical realism. This biblical realism means we can rightly lament our grief, and reach heavenward with gratitude. The reason? In both grief and gratitude we see clearly our limits and that we really do depend on the only God who rescues us. Third, As we do this, we can flourish in the promise that the Lord is at hand, that God is near. And those "who really believe God to be near are not panicked people, not cruel or easily angered, but reasonable and even gentle" (144). So much more in these pages, but those three lifted my heart.

This volume can be used in groups, as well as individually. It is essential reading and embracing for my fellow supermen and wonderwomen who think - as I have often been prone to do - that they must have super powers to please God. It might just make you cry with relief. Yep, it just might. I recommend this book without hesitation.

I'm thankful that Covenant College gave out free copies, and that I was able to snag one. If you don't know Kelly Kapic, he is professor of theological studies at Covenant College in Look Out Mountain, Georgia. He also has written several works, such as "You're Only Human," "Embodied Hope," and co-authored "Becoming Whole" with Brian Fikkert.