Christianity Today Award of Merit
Meditations on Why Life is Worth Living
We aren't always honest about how difficult normal human life is.
For the majority of people, sorrow, despair, anxiety, and mental illness are everyday experiences. While we have made tremendous advancements in therapy and psychiatry, the burden of living still comes down to mundane choices that we each must make—like the daily choice to get out of bed.
In these pages, you'll find
February 6, 2023
Noble (You Are Not Your Own), an English professor at Oklahoma Baptist University, takes a clear-eyed look at emotional suffering in this illuminating entry. “Get to know someone really well, and almost without fail, you will discover a person who routinely struggles to get out of bed in the morning,” Noble writes, arguing that while an overly self-sufficient culture compels people to hide their scars, everyone is wounded, and one can find the strength to endure through God. The author first seeks to normalize depression, suggesting it’s neither a punishment for making the “wrong” life choices nor a failing to follow a prescribed religious path, but rather a diagnosable mental illness. As well, suffering is an inherent part of human life, and while it can’t be avoided, Noble asserts that God’s “goodness, His love for us, and the goodness of His creation” proves life is fundamentally worth living. During times of emotional distress, the author suggests seeking professional help or focusing on the “concrete details of life,” such as putting on shoes or making coffee in the morning, as a means of serving God. Noble draws on his own struggles with mental illness throughout, and his perceptive observations (depression can feel as though “you are a ghost haunting your own life”) will help readers feel seen but not judged. Christians are sure to find abundant wisdom.