Desiring God - Part 17
I am reading Desiring God by John Piper. Today my post is on Piper’s last chapter, which is about suffering. Piper saves this chapter for the end, and it is also one of the longest.
Piper begins the chapter talking about Pastor Richard Wurmbrand. If you have never read his book Tortured for Christ, I would highly recommend it. It is very eye-opening and humbling to see what people are willing to endure for the cause of Christ.
Piper uses 1 Corinthians 15:19 in a very interesting way in this chapter. I have never thought of this passage in this way. Piper says that we should be living our Christian life in such a way that if Christ is not real that our life was a waste. That is very interesting. A lot of what we hear from modern Evangelicalism is that we should give Christ a try. We hear that He will make our life better. It is really a “what could it hurt” type of thing. Piper says that based upon 1 Corinthians 15:19 that our Christian lives should be lived in such a way that we are making sacrifices and going through pains that we would never endure if Jesus were not the Christ.
Piper asks the question, “How many Christians are there who could say, ‘The suffering I have freely chosen to embrace for Christ would be a pitiable life if there is no resurrection?’“ Very, very interesting point. The Apostle Paul was certainly someone who could speak with great authority on this matter.
Much of this chapter deals with God’s sovereignty. It is impossible to deal with suffering and not make it a lesson on sovereignty. As I have said before, Piper has a very high view of God, which I really like about him. Nothing is outside of God’s control. Satan is only allowed to do what God allows him to do.
Piper uses 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 as an example. Here is what Piper has to say.
“Here Paul’s physical suffering - the thorn in the flesh - is called “a messenger of Satan.” But the design of this suffering is “to keep [Paul] from exalting [himself],” which never would have been Satan’s design. So the point is that Christ sovereignly accomplishes His loving, purifying purpose, by overruling Satan’s destructive attempts. Satan is always aiming to destroy our faith; but Christ magnifies His power in weakness.“
Piper states that suffering does several things for the Christian. First, it simply is confirmation that the person is truly a Christian. Next, it weans us from self-reliance and teaches us to rely on God. Also, it highlights grace and shows Christ to be our satisfaction.
Piper ends the chapter discussing some famous Christian martyrs and their willingness to exalt Christ even in their death.
I would highly recommend a sermon by John Piper that is on Desiring God’s website. The sermon text and audio can be found here. This is the sermon that Piper preached at his church on Sunday, September 11, 2005. The title is “Where is God?” The message is just incredible.
I will wrap up the epilogue and various appendices for this book in the next couple of posts.