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Book Review – I Would Die For You

Bethany Sanderson

Once in a great while, you run across a book that is all at once inspiring and humbling, a book that makes you both smile and cry. I Would Die For You is one such book. Written by Brent and Deanna Higgins, this book chronicles the short, yet passionate life of their son, BJ Higgins, and his devotion to God. It serves as a solemn wake-up call to Christians of all ages, but particularly young people in today’s society.

BJ Higgins was known everywhere he went as a young man of surprising spiritual depth and maturity. From a very young age, he was hungry for God’s Word, eager to do His will, and excited to share about Him with others. As a young teenager, BJ served on two consecutive five-week mission trips to Peru with Awe Star Ministries. As a leader of the Awe Star team said in describing BJ:

…I know BJ as a guy that just wants to see the nations come to know [Christ] as Lord and Savior. BJ is one that is not afraid to talk to anyone and weeps when people say no to knowing [Christ]. He is a guy that when we get up in the morning will make you laugh and will always have something very deep that God has taught him. He is not afraid to tell people what he has learned and is always looking for someone to tell them about what God is doing in his life. (p.189-190)

Though he was one of the youngest students on these trips, BJ became a spiritual leader whom everyone looked up to. He sought to live out Christ’s command to die to self as he and his teammates witnessed to the Peruvians.

During his second mission trip, however, BJ contracted an infection that left him critically ill only a few weeks after his return to the U.S. A six-week battle with the infection followed, during which BJ captured the prayers of thousands, including lead singer of MercyMe, Bart Millard, who wrote and recorded a song in his honor. But four days before his sixteenth birthday, BJ passed on into the presence of his Creator, leaving behind a family who, although grieving his loss, praised God for His life and gave Him the glory.

Some readers may object by saying that Brent and Deanna Higgins are bragging about their son or glorifying his memory. However, the Higgins are merely narrators in a story made up almost entirely of journal entries and other writings of BJ, along with comments of people who knew him, from family members and pastors to peers and teachers. These writings and comments speak for themselves, and they all tell the same story: BJ Higgins was a young man on fire for God, a young man whom God used mightily to bring glory to His kingdom. And while the Higgins let us see BJ’s passions and triumphs, neither do they shrink from showing us some of his struggles in his walk with God and relationships with other people.

Yet even with these admissions that BJ was not perfect, there is still a temptation to shrug him off and label him as “super-spiritual.” His example is a hard one to follow, but it should encourage us to rise above the life of today’s “average” Christian teenager. To dismiss BJ entirely as an atypical example of spiritual maturity and passion in a young person would be contrary to the book’s message and opposite of everything he stood for. As an Awe Star teammate said after BJ’s death, we cannot look at BJ’s life as the exception. It must become the rule.

I Would Die For You is a book that can scarcely be read without reflection and heart searching. Though people may perhaps quibble over evangelism methods or other aspects of the book, no one can deny that BJ Higgins had a genuine love for God that took first place in his life. This book carries on his memory and passion by calling on people to fight the sin and complacency in their lives. It is a call for us to make whatever changes necessary to discover, or even rediscover, the passion, faith, and love that BJ Higgins had.

In BJ’s own words:

Do not be satisfied with staying the same person and doing the same mundane routine each day, but change, grow closer to God and move deeper than just ankle-deep in Him every day you live, for it may very well be your last. (p. 195)