End of the Beginning

I finished my second book for my Missions and Evangelism class, Let the Nations be Glad. There are a ton of profound truths brought out in this book. As with my Missiology texbook, I finish the book with the sense that I am not doing nearly enough to further the command of the Great Commission. Yet, of course, I know that I do serve. It is just good to get challenged by these books and see if there is something else I can do. I certainly can pray with more fervor.

Piper of course very much identifies with the Puritans and has been very much shaped by Jonathan Edwards in the development of his own theology. The more I read about the Puritans the more I like them. One thing that I read in this book is that the Puritans kept their churches very simple and just called them "Meeting Houses" because they wanted the focus to be on the Lord and not on the building. This is of course in stark contrast to some of the incredible cathedrals that you can find in the world, both Catholic and Protestant.

For them it seems to come down to enjoying God for being God. They didn't make God into some kind of cosmic genie beholden to them because of their faithfulness. This is the kind of thinking that gets you through trials and tribulations. We may call God sovereign, but if we expect rewards for our faithfulness then we can't really handle His sovereignty in the midst of serious trials.

Piper had a great quote from C.S. Lewis in his final chapter. The premise of this book is that Missions are a result of our worship. Piper defines worship as delighting in God, which is the cornerstone of his ministry. Where does praise fit in? The quote I liked says that praise is the ultimate consummation of enjoyment. In other words, it's not enough just to enjoy something, but we also must praise it. We have no problems with doing this when it comes to food, art, vacations, children, etc. I can think of times when I see something enjoyable at a sporting event and have to share the experience with someone. Somehow talking about it closes the loop on the event.

Praising God is the same way. We need to praise Him if we really delight in Him. I can think of times when I got back from various conferences and just been bursting at the seams to tell my wife about the experience. Frankly, I miss having that feeling. This tells me that I need to increase my delight in God. How can I not delight in Him?