Don’t Waste Your Life
Piper, john. Don’t waste Your Life. Wheaton, Illinois: Cross Way Books:2003, Pgs 191. Since 1980, John Piper has been the pastor for preaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church in the heart of Minneapolis. Purpose of this Book and Summary The main purpose for which John Piper wrote this book was to help Christians and non Christians to not waste their lives (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). John Piper wants all people to know the purpose for which they were created and to live for it. Furthermore, John Piper tells us that we belong to God; we do not belong to ourselves because God bought us at a price.
It is not all about how to avoid a wounded life but how to avoid a wasted life. The Bible is crystal-clear: God created us for his glory. Thus says the Lord “Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by name, whom I created for my glory” (Isaiah 43:6-7). Life is wasted when we do not live for the glory of God. The Bible says that, you can give away all that you have and deliver your body to be burned and have not love (1 Corinthians: 13:3). If you don’t point people to God for everlasting joy, you don’t love. You waste your live.
The opposite of wasting life, is the living life by a single God-exalting, soul-satisfying passion. The well-lived life must be God-exalting and soul-satisfying because that is why God created us (Isaiah 43:7; Psalm 90:14). Oh, how many lives are wasted by people who believe that the Christian live means simply avoiding badness and providing for family. So, there is no adultery, no stealing, no killing, no embezzlement, no fraud, just lots of hard work during the day, and lots of television and videos, and lots of fun stuff on the weekend, woven around church (mostly).
This is life fore millions of people. Wasted life. We are created for more, far more If we desire that there be no boasting except in the cross, then we must live near the cross, indeed we must live on the cross (Gal 6:14). Boasting in the cross happens when you are on the cross (Gal 2:19-20). “I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. And the life and now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ” Living magnify Christ is costly. This is not surprising. He was crucified.
He calls us to follow him. ”If anyone will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). A life devoted to making much of Christ is costly. If our single, all-embracing passion is to make much of Christ in life and death, and if the life that magnifies him most is the life of costly love, then life is risk, and risk is right. To run from it is to waste your life. Major Themes Some of the themes discussed in this book: boasting only on the cross, the blazing center of the glory God, better to lose your life than to waste it.
John Piper presented these themes beautifully under captivating sub topics in the book; each of which warms up the heart and also challenges not to waste his or her life. There is really no story line from my point of view, but that change the fact that the themes have been treated through well organized thoughts. Evaluation Don’t Waste Your Life to me is classic. I say so because, when you read each page, you feel like you are not living up to expectation, it like you are not doing as much as you ought to be doing.
The book is so inspiring so much so that it gives a new challenge, and rekindles a dying zeal. The book makes one feel like one needs to rededicate his life to Christ and start afresh. John Piper makes one feel if a second chance to born again physically in order to make up for the wasted years, one would hesitate to grasp that chance. The book does not leave anyone indifferent, whether believers or unbelievers. The book addresses every society and culture, that is, it applies across cultures.
The syllogism in the introduction of chapter five that says: If our single all-embracing passion is to make much of Christ in life and death and if the life that magnifies Him most is the life of costly love, then risk is right. To run from it is to waste your life. This syllogism seems to me to be the core of John’s thought in this book. Those who think that Christianity is bed of roses can get from this book with biblical backings that there also the aspects of suffering in it. Application This book was like a reminder to me, from now, I know that I must be accountable as to how I use or spend my time.
I have come to realize that there are thing s one may be doing thinking that they are important thinks in the side of God, just to realize after that it was a total waste of time. For example, the numerous church programs that we have that do not readily point people to Christ, rather, some even discourage people from following Christ. I will not waste my life. I recommend this book to all Christians regardless of their positions in Church. This book will be of help to non-Christians as well.
