This week I decided to do a quick book review/recommendation for John Piper’s Don’t Waste Your Life. This is a book I read a few years ago, my pastor had given it to me as a gift. I was very happy to be receiving a book and let alone one I knew was good because… my pastor gave it to me! At this point in time, I was newly saved and still trying to figure things out. I was still unsure of who’s books I should read or which preachers were solid, so this gift was very much appreciated.
Although the book was a Christmas gift, I didn’t begin to read it until the summer time. Once I began to read it, I couldn’t put it down. In this book, Piper shows us the way Americans seek the American Dream, the comfortable life. Living a comfortable life might seem pretty nice, I must admit, but as Christians called by Christ, this is not our mission. We no longer live to satisfy our own needs or wants, we live to glorify God and make His name known.
There are many ways in which a Christian can make God’s name known; sharing the gospel in the streets, talking to friends and family about the wonderful gift God has given us, and possibly even through the other media such as blogging (see what I did there?).
*Quick disclosure: The photos for the items below are each linked to Amazon.com. Should you choose to purchase from them, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.*
In this book, Piper goes through different topics such as The Beauty of Christ, Magnifying Christ, Making Much of Christ and Sharing Christ. Notice a pattern? The goal of this book is to help us make much of Christ in our everyday life. He ends the book with a plea to missions and this was very well done. He really explains the need to go to different parts of the world to share the Gospel and the importance of doing the Lord’s work and the beauty of it.
After finishing the book, I wanted to go on a missions trip as soon as possible. Unfortunately, even though my church was going on a missions trip to the Dominican Republic that summer, I was too late to be a part of it. I have yet to be able to go on a missions trip due to providential hindrances, but still, hope to go on one someday, Lord willing.
Below you’ll find a few quotes I picked from the book, just so that you can get an idea of what’s in it.
“Desire that your life count for something great! Long for your life to have eternal significance. Want this! Don’t coast through life without a passion.”
“He is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”
“But whatever you do, find the God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated passion of your life, and find your way to say it and live for it and die for it. And you will make a difference that lasts. You will not waste your life.”
“My joy grows with every soul that seeks the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Remember, you have one life. That’s all. You were made for God. Don’t waste it.”
“You don’t have to know a lot of things for your life to make a lasting difference in the world. But you do have to know the few great things that matter, perhaps just one, and then be willing to live for them and die for them. The people that make a durable difference in the world are not the people who have mastered many things, but who have been mastered by one great thing.”
SDG – “Soli Deo Gloria”
