The Debt I Owe to John Piper

Hebrews 12:1-2 - "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

If you've ever read anything by John Piper, there's a good chance you read Desiring God or Don't Waste Your Life, or perhaps, Future Grace. Future Grace was actually the first Piper book I ever read, my sophomore year in college. The whole point of the book is to teach Christians the purifying power of living by faith in future grace. Yeah, it sounds kind of weird, but it makes sense when you actually understand that superior satisfaction in life and in God comes when we truly cherish the promises of God - and that God is the most glorified in us when we are the most satisfied in him. Outstanding. Anyway, the 31st and last chapter of the book is entitled "The Debt I Owe to Jonathan Edwards." Well, this isn't exactly the last chapter of a recently released book of mine, but tonight I think it's my turn - hence the title of this post.

I came to know Christ my freshman year in college. The summer before my sophomore year, I received some intense and very beneficial training at the Campus Outreach Summer Beach Project. My room leader that summer (I'll call him "Austin") introduced me to the writings of John Piper and encouraged me to check into Future Grace and Desiring God when I returned to campus that fall. And I did. My sophomore year I read through Future Grace, Desiring God, and Let the Nations Be Glad and have ready many more since. As a young Christian in need of Godly tutelage, Piper inadvertently became my spiritual mentor - all by the grace of God. The best thing about the books was that they always pointed to, centered around, and were saturated with the Bible. Hundreds of Bible verses filled the books and actually served as the root of each chapter. Hundreds of his sermons are available for free. The resources available at his website are tremendous. I cannot thank him enough for his service to not only my life but thousands of others. For tonight, for as long as can I still think clearly, I would like to write out some of the things I'm thankful to John Piper for - and ultimately thankful to God for, because it's really about God using another wretch of a man to make himself known to me.

I'm thankful to John Piper for...

1.) Teaching me that as a Christian, I should fight for joy.
2.) Teaching me that my purpose in life is to glorify God by enjoying him forever.
3.) Teaching me that it's right for God to do all things for his glory.
4.) Teaching me that true satisfaction can be found in God alone.
5.) Teaching me that being with God and enjoying God is truly the gospel.
6.) Teaching me to live by faith in the future grace that God will surely provide.
7.) Teaching me that my sin is a form of unbelief in the promises of God.
8.) Teaching me that God is sovereign and in control.
9.) Teaching me that unreached peoples all over the earth desperately need the gospel.
10.) Teaching me to not waste my life on trivial things that do not matter.
11.) Teaching me that there is always hope, even in darkness.
12.) Teaching me about other Christian men in the past of whom the world wasn't worthy.
13.) Teaching me that suffering has a purpose to glorify God.
14.) Teaching me that whatever God does - he is right.
15.) Teaching me to have a God-centered vision of all things.
16.) Showing me that it's ok for a grown man to cry.
17.) Telling me that I would be better off memorizing Scripture than baseball statistics.
18.) Providing so much to people around the world for free.
19.) Being a big time pastor who's not in it for the glory or for the money.
20.) Challenging me so many times when I was weak.
21.) Teaching me that a comfortable life should not be a goal of mine.
22.) Teaching me that there shouldn't be any "retirement" for a Christian.
23.) Teaching me what to do when I don't desire God.
24.) Teaching me the urgency and reality of hell.
25.) Showing me the beauty and necessity of Christ.
26.) Showing me how to fight cancer like a man of God.
27.) Showing me what a wretch I am.
28.) Preaching about the importance of truly loving people.
29.) Opening my eyes to the seriousness of abortion.
30.) Opening my eyes to the beauty of adoption as a response to God's adopting of us.
31.) Being humble enough to acknowledge that this entire list was totally a result of the grace of God in his life and in mine.

I could go on and on...but I won't. This post in no way does justice to all the things I've learned from John Piper - and so much of it was simply him pointing me to the Scriptures. It will be a great day when Pastor Piper finally leaves this earth and gets to be with his blessed savior, but the world will lose perhaps it's best preacher and best writer, and I will lose my earthly mentor. And when it comes down to it, I don't think this wicked and depraved world is worthy of him. But by no means shall we give John Piper the glory - give it all to God, for that's what he would want anyway.

Is this the greatest verse in the Bible? I don't know, but I'm beginning to think it is:

Matthew 5:6 - "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."