Review & Giveaway: Hannah Anderson’s Made for More
First it should be stated emphatically that Made for More isn’t a book for women only. Hannah makes specific application for women, but the overall principles are foundational ones. “It’s a call to recover the image of God in our lives—to re-imagine not simply what it means to be woman but what it means to be a person made in the very likeness of God Himself” (11). So the call is not for biblical womanhood in ambiguous terms, “but first and foremost as a person destined to be like your God” (13). That’s something women and men can get behind.
I appreciated how each section and chapter drive the reader towards this vision. The book is organized around Romans 11:36, “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” Also, I loved that Hannah places this entire conversation in an historical context. She notes the industrial revolution changed the way we think about work. How that brought us to the 1950’s view of womanhood and manhood and how feminism grew out of the empty answers to tough questions never addressed from earlier in the century (pp. 22-23). She argues and I agree, “We are large, deep, eternal beings, and only some thing larger and deeper and more eternal will satisfy the questions in our souls” (23).
Hannah also doesn’t leave us static in the creation narrative. She moves from our creation where God “stooped down into the mud to shape us in His image” to the gospel revealed in Jesus’ life and death where God “shape[s] us in His image through Christ” (61). This allows her to root our Christian living as image bearers in God’s love (76-79). Also, Christ’s finished work “makes us people who can finally work as we are meant to. Because of Him, our labor is no longer in vain” (113). These all make a strong rope to hold onto: we are created by God in his image; the image is restored in Christ; our work is redeemed as we work because of Christ’s work, not to earn favor; this work then is an outpouring of love where we can help others flourish (114).
I can’t recommend Made for More enough. It’s one the most engaging, winsome, and theological rich books I’ve read this year. The overall tenor reminds me of C. S. Lewis’ Weight of Glory where he argues “There are no ordinary people” (46). It’s written on a level anyone can understand and many of the transitions, introductions, and stories reveal, not only does Hannah have theological acumen, but she’s a skilled wordsmith and storyteller as well. This book is a no brainer for women, but I would encourage men to pick this up and read it as well. If you’re a husband and father and want to lead the women in your life well, then you must understand who they were created to be and whom they were created for. To him be glory forever. Amen!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Mathew Sims is the author of A Household Gospel Fulfilling the Great Commission in Our Homes and has written for CBMW Men’s blog, Gospel-Centered Discipleship, Borrowed Light, and Servants of Grace. He also works as the managing editor at Gospel-Centered Discipleship. They attend Downtown Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Greenville, SC.