It's been a while..

Well I have been a failure at posting lately, and even now this will be rather brief. I am not experiencing any kind of deep suffering in my life right now, however this quote by Piper still made a significant impact on me as I contemplate how much I cling to the things of this world, the people in my world. I wish I could just let them go easily and quickly without any selfish desires to hang onto them.

In his book, Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, Piper says: You cannot show the preciousness of a person by being happy with his gifts. Ingratitude will certainly prove that the giver is not loved. But gratitude for gifts does not prove that the giver is precious. What proves that the giver is precious is the glad-hearted readiness to leave all his gifts to be with him. This is why suffering is so central in the mission of the church. The goal of our mission is that people from all nations worship the true God. But worship means cherishing the preciousness of God above all else, including life itself. It will be very hard to bring the nations to love God from a lifestyle that communicates a love of things. Therefore, God ordains in the lives of his messengers that suffering sever our bondage to the world. When joy and love survive this severing, we are fit to say to the nations with authenticity and power: hope in God.