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In this day and age we seldomly stop to think about the effectiveness of our own lives, much less whether we might be wasting a whole life. So, as you might imagine from the title, this book is not light bed time reading.
In this book John Piper unpacks the single passion that God created us for, namely for his glory. Piper urges us to live our lives with "a passion to glorify God by enjoying and displaying his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life". He claims that if we fail to do this, then we are wasting our lives.
Piper begins the book by describing his own journey to discover this passion & his fear of what it would mean to waste his life. He then goes onto challenge the reader as to where one's joy comes from. He declares, in the same words that he has used in other books "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." From the example of Paul in Galations he describes how the Christian should boast in nothing except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. He describes the necessity of pain in the Christian life & of taking risks for the Lord.
I must admit that as I read these early chapters I had questions about how these things really work in practice. Sure I am a Christian, sure I want to live for Christ but is the whole of my life, as in every mundane aspect of my life, really motivated by this single passion? As the chapters unfold Piper seems to answer all these questions. Through his expert understanding & unpacking of scripture he explains for example, what Paul means when he says "To live is Christ, & to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21) & how this applies to us. The latter chapters are full of application as to how different our lives should be. He laments at "how many lives are wasted by people who believe that the Christian life means simply avoiding badness & providing for the family". He gives examples of how believers should view work & lastly mission, & the role of all believers in this.
This is an exciting, humbling & challenging book for all believers irrespective of how long they have been a Christian, & a wonderful challenge for those not yet Christian. It forces the reader to reassess what they are really living for & basing their life upon. When we face God on judgement day what will we have to show for our lives? It is better to lose your life than waste it! We were created by a great God to serve & thus glorify Him!
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