MONDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT
THE INADEQUACY OF THE BATBOY’S PERSPECTIVE
Someone might say, “But isn’t the Gospel about finding forgiveness of my sins and getting the hope of eternal life and being filled with the Spirit of holiness and being changed into the image of Jesus so that I am a better mom or dad or son or daughter or friend or employer or citizen?”
The answer, of course, is yes. But if that is all we focus on in our walk with God, we miss the big picture. We miss the bigger point of it all.
We are like batboys at Yankee Stadium who think the great point of the World Series is to hand the players a bat.
~ John Piper, Don’t Waste Your Life
Why do you need God?
Why do you go to church? Why do you read the Bible? Why do you strive to live a holy life?
Well, you need saving from yourself; you need help to stay on the right path; you need to be a more loving spouse, a more patient parent, a more caring friend; etc.
Yes. Certainly.
But...
You need God because he’s your purpose for being here. He’s your meaning.
He’s the image you’re designed to reflect.
He’s not here for you; you are here for him (Isaiah 43:7).
Do you get that mixed up sometimes? I do. A lot. I get sidetracked with side purposes: be nice, be helpful, be giving. Those are godly things, but only if they serve a godly purpose (1 Corinthians 10:31)...
The main purpose? To mirror God’s glory. To show and tell how wonderful he is. To sing his praises (Isaiah 43:21) and get others to sing with us. How? By being a more loving spouse, a more patient parent, a more caring friend, nice, helpful, giving....
Jesus fleshed that out for us. He showed us what it means to do the Father’s will, not our own. To say what the Father wants said, to do what the Father wants done. To show us that...
We are his—to do what he wants us to. He is not ours to do what we want him to do. We are to give glory to his name, not he to ours (Psalm 115:1).
We need God because he is who we are to honor.
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5 comments:
Very true -- I need to frequently readjust my focus and emphasis.
I too get stuck on the little "side things"...they aren't bad...just not the MAIN thing I should be focusing on. Thanks for this!
Gotta love Piper--right on target.
Hi Lisa,
John Piper is an amazing preacher. I deeply respect his integrity, his ability to reach younger people, and I agree 100% with his "complementarian" views on biblical manhood and womanhood. I'm grateful he's so vocal about his views.
Piper's recent appearance at the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in South Africa says volumes about his desire to see evangelicals around the globe united--even though he could have turned down his invitation to attend. (There were many liberal feminist "egalitarians" represented.)
Apparently, Piper holds to the old adage "unity on the essentials, diversity on the non-essentials, and love over all" when it comes to doctrinal differences among Christians.
I'll be honest though. I don't automatically agree with everything Piper says, because I know he preaches from Reformed theological perspective. Piper also believes that the supernatural gifts of the Spirit have ceased.
I find myself in the "Arminian" free-will camp, and I believe strongly that the gifts of the Spirit are still in operation in the Church today.
When it comes to quotes by Piper then, I always pause, and remember the doctrinal biases toward which he leans.
Thanks for sharing!
Blessings, e-Mom
I love that--"He’s not here for you; you are here for him." It's easy to see all the "benefits" of salvation and the Christian life and to get caught up selling the gospel as if it were all about us, instead of getting caught up in the God who it's really all about.
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