Merry Christmas, everyone! I have greatly enjoyed my time in Monrovia through the Christmas season - two highlights are spending time with people I don't get to see very often (and with people who I'm just getting to know) and having time to read good books. This Christmas Day evening, I am not thinking about a lot of traditionally Christmassy stuff, but of the ups and downs of a life of obedience to Christ. I'm thinking about people in Guinea who are uncertain what will happen next since their president died this week. I'm thinking of families who are struggling to make the right decisions for the well-being of their kids, and wondering why things don't seem to be working out as smoothly as they had hoped. I'm thinking of a friend who has not relaxed to celebrate Christmas much because of the stresses of work. And I'm thinking about my own frustrations with working in Sinoe County.
In the middle of those thoughts, I started reading The Roots of Endurance, by John Piper. Already I have jotted down so many quotes from it, and I haven't even finished the introduction! I'm wishing I had a paper copy (I downloaded it from Desiring God), as I wish I could just underline and star all the great thoughts. Anyway, this book is about three men who Piper recognizes for their endurance in their lives of faith and obedience. I want to be like these men.
If you know me well, you know that I consider myself a runner, and dream of being a marathoner one day. I think this is partly why the theme of endurance strikes a chord with me. Piper describes Christians who are guided by a heart truly submitted to the Lord like this: "Coronary Christians are like the heart in the causes they serve. Adrenal Christians are like adrenaline – a spurt of energy and then fatigue.What we need in the cause of social justice (for example, against racism and abortion), and the cause of world missions (to plant churches among the unreached peoples of the world), and the cause of personal holiness and evangelism (to lead people to Christ and love them no matter what) is not spurts of energy, but people who endure for the long haul.Marathoners, not sprinters." Then he quoted William Wilberforce: "I daily become more sensible that my work must be affected by constant and regular exertions rather than by sudden and violent ones."
If you read the book, you will see the connection that Piper makes between enduring and glorifying God in our lives. The theme of God being glorified in my daily life is something that has stood out to me so much as I read the Word - have you ever noticed how many times in Ezekiel it says "Then they will know that I am the Lord" or a similar phrase directing you back to the purpose God had in His actions? That's the key - we are here to glorify God. I can use up all my energy and all the talents God has given me doing good things - but if I am not glorifying Him, what good is it? One last quote from the introduction to this book: "The aim of all our endurance is that Christ be seen and savored in the world as our glorious God."
