Chapter 6 | Don't Waste Your Life

Chapter 6|THE GOAL OF LIFE--GLADLY MAKING OTHERS GLAD IN GOD

A small group resource for CSM students that are studying John Piper's Don't Waste Your Life book.

As tricky as this chapter may seem, the concept is actually quite simple. We will state the main concept upfront as an attempt to give us the right lenses to read the chapter with...

The goal of life is to help people fall in love with Jesus.

It is through a right relationship with Jesus that we experience the greatest joys in life. Therefore, it is right of us to consider how we might help others experience that joy.

The chapter starts with a plea to be forgiving. Piper says, "If you are wired to see other people's faults and failures and offenses, and treat them roughly, you will not take risk for their joy" (pg. 99). The idea is that to truly love others we must be able to look past their faults and extend grace to those in need. This means we look past the sins of our family members, no matter how terrible those sins may be, and forgive them. We look past the faults of our fellow classmates and forgive, even if it is extremely difficult. It is a radical concept but to show the love of Christ to others we must be willing to lay down our unforgiving and critical spirit. What grudges are you still holding?

But where can this sort of insane forgiveness come from? What is the source of this forgiveness? It comes from understanding the grace that was extended to us in the gospel. "We have been forgiven by God when we did not deserve it" (pg. 100). It is a beautiful truth that God pardons our sins and forgives us as Piper points out:

"Forgiveness is essentially God's way of removing the great obstacle of fellowship with him. By cancelling our sin and paying for it with the death of His own Son, God opens the for us to see Him and know Him and enjoy Him forever" (pg. 100).

That sort of forgiven-ness is the source of our infinite joy. This joy that we experience is not meant to be kept to ourselves. We are to share it. The bible says of it, "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32). Therefore, it is not only appropriate but right to extend that same sort of forgiveness to others. And the motive as Piper points out "for being a forgiving person is the joy of being freely and joyfully at home with God." When we forgive we are acting inline with the character of God and drawing people to Him. Even more, we ourselves are gaining closer fellowship with Him. We are in good company when we forgive, the company of God. So everybody wins when we are forgiving. We win, the people we forgive win (they get forgiven by us and God), and even God wins! Forgiveness is a powerful thing.

Christians should be marked by a generous, merciful, and forgiving spirit. It should be normal for a Christian to act graciously toward others. In fact, Piper quotes Robert Murray M'Chynne to say that if you are not generous and compassionate, you should be concerned (pg. 102). Piper goes on to say that if we are truly living for the glory of God then "we live to make others glad in God" (pg. 102). It is our calling. It is our greatest task. We are called to share the love of Christ with those in need. "If we experience forgiveness as the free and undeserved gift of joy in God, then we will be carried by this joy, with love, into a world of sin and suffering" (pg. 101). Our goal in life is "gladly making others glad in Christ." Piper does not mean that we simply invite someone to church, or have a conversation with a friend about Jesus, or simply hand out an evangelistic track. Our desire is to see the fullness of the message of Christ expressed in their lives:

"When I speak of the gladness in God, therefore, I mean gladness that has roots in God's eternal decree, was purchased by the blood of Christ, springs up in the newborn heart because of God's Spirit, awakens in repentance and faith, constitutes the essence of sanctification and Christlikeness, and gives rise to a life of love and a passion for redeeming the world after the image of God. Gladness in God is a massive reality planned and purchased and produced by God in the lives of His elect for the glory of His name" (pg. 104, 105).

Now lets touch this thing down on our soil... So our goal in life is to share the joy of Christ with people at our schools? ...YES! God is enlisting us into the joys of sharing His joy with others. We are supposed to be a people so overwhelmed with Him that we share Him with others.

Do you desire to be a part of that colossal plan?

Do you feel so overwhelmed by the love of God that you want to share it?

What keeps you from sharing that joy in God with others?