Confessions of a Prodigal

I was moved deeply while reading this from Lewis. In my opinion, this is very close to the heart of biblical complementarianism.

Husbands, take heed:

The husband is the head of the wife just in so far as he is to her what Christ is to the Church. He is to love her as Christ loved the Church—read on—and give his life for her (Eph. V, 25). This headship, then is most fully embodied not in the husband we should all wish to be but in him whose marriage is most like a crucifixion; whose wife receives most and gives least, is most unworthy of him, is—in her own mere nature—least lovable. For the Church has no beauty but what the Bride-groom gives her; he does not find, but makes her, lovely. The chrism of this terrible coronation is to be seen not in the joys of any man’s mariage but in its sorrows, in the sickness and sufferings of a good wife or the faults of a bad one, in his unwearying (never paraded) care or his inexhaustible forgiveness: forgiveness, not acquiescence. As Christ sees in the flawed, proud, fanatical or lukewarm Church on earth that Bride who will one day be without spot or wrinkle, and labours to produce the latter, so the husband whose headship is Christ-like (and he is allowed no other sort) never despairs. He is a King Cophetua who after twenty years still hopes that the beggar-girl will one day learn to speak the truth and wash behind her ears.

A word of Caution for Singles:

To say this is not to say that there is any virtue or wisdom in making a marriage that involves such misery. There is no virtue or wisdom in seeking unnecessary martyrdom or deliberately courting persecution; yet it is, none the less, the persecuted or martyred Christian in whom the pattern of the Master is most unambiguously realised. So, in these terrible marriages, once they have come about, the “headship” of the husband, if only he can sustain it, is most Christ-like.

In other words, don’t follow logic blindly. Just because the husband whose marriage looks most like a crucifixion images forth Christ most clearly, don’t go around looking for a bad wife on purpose. That’s like seeking martyrdom on purpose.

Finally, for the women:

The sternest feminist need not grudge my sex the crown offered to it either in the Pagan or in the Christian mystery.  For the one is of paper and the other of thorns. The real danger is not that husbands may grasp the latter too eagerly; but that they will allow or compel their wives to usurp it.

May the husbands in my generation boldly, humbly and joyfully take up this crown of thorns and lead sacrifically.

(All excerpts are from The Four Loves, pgs. 105-106, bold mine)

Consider this answer from C.S. Lewis:

Sexual desire, without Eros, wants it, the thing in itself; Eros wants the Beloved.

The thing is a sensory pleasure; that is, an event occuring within one’s own body. We use a most unfortunate idiom when we say, of a lustful man prowling the streets, that he “wants a woman.” Strictly speaking, a woman is just what he does not want. He wants a pleasure for which a woman happens to be the necessary piece of apparatus. How much he cares about the woman as such may be gauged by his attitude to her five minutes after fruition (one does not keep the carton after one has smoked the cigarettes).

Now Eros makes a man really want, not a woman, but one particular woman. In some mysterious but quite indisputable fashion the lover desires the Beloved herself, not the pleasure she can give. No lover in the world ever sought the embraces of the woman he loved as the result of a calculation, however unconscious, that they would be more pleasurable than those of any other woman.

                      (The Four Loves, Kindle edition, Location 1140, paragraphing mine)

Philippians 4:6-7: “Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your prayers be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

Note that:

1. We are instructed in these verses first to not be anxious about anything. What is anxiety? It is looking at the future, seeing uncertainty, and being fearful about it, trembling about it, questioning whether God would be for us in those situations. It is saying “What shall we eat? What shall we drink?” (Matthew 6:31) when looking at the future. It is seeing the future and being troubled in the present about it. Clearly the apostle Paul thinks this is an unhealthy condition for Christians to be in. Remember, the Lord Jesus did not want his people to be in this condition either. (Matthew 6:25 “Do not be anxious about your life” and Matthew 6:34 “Do not be anxious about tomorrow”)

2. We are exhorted not to be anxious about anything. Look at this word anything. Paul wants us to be completely anxiety-free. There is nothing on heaven above, here on earth or in hell below that should make us anxious. No disease, no difficulty, no calamity, no cross, no burden, no sin, no enemy should make us anxious. No one who is against us, be it family member, people at work, society, culture, media, organizations, kings, presidents, the world, demons and even Satan himself—even if all the universe joined to war against us, we ought not to be anxious. This is what Paul means when he says “Do not be anxious about anything.”

• Are you fearful about what you’ll eat tomorrow? Do not be anxious!
• Is there someone in your family against you? Do not be anxious!
• You do not know how you’ll pay the next bill? Do not be anxious!
• Do people at work despise you because you’re a Christian? Do not be anxious!
• Are you under spiritual attack? Do you feel like Satan is tormenting you? Do not be anxious!
• Is there a besetting sin in your life? Are you discouraged because you keep failing? Do not be anxious!
• Are you confused about what is your lot in life? Whether you’ll succeed or fail? Do not be anxious!
• Do you have family problems? Health problems? Marriage problems? Financial problems? Mental problems? Emotional problems? I tell you, Do not be anxious!

But you’ll say to me, “How is this possible? I cannot seem to not be anxious about these things!”

The answer is but found in the next few words. The way to overcome anxiety about our troubles is prayer!

3. Notice again the words “in everything!”. Yes, just like ‘anything’ should prevent us from worrying about ‘all troubles’, ‘everything’ encourages to pray about ‘all troubles’. Make sure you don’t forget this word ‘everything’! This is how you’ll become a person who is not anxious about anything. By remembering this word ‘everything’. But what shall we do about ‘everything’?

4. PRAY! The apostle directs us to pray! Another word used here is supplication. It means to earnestly beg for, to ask. You must ask as if he is the only one who can supply your need! You must not give up and continually come like the Syrophoenician woman, who kept asking Jesus even when He seemed unwilling to help her (Mark 7:26). Remember the persistent widow in Luke 18. Prayer that is not earnest is lifeless and faithless. Do you believe He can meet your need? Then keep coming to Him, believing that He will do what He has promised, until the need is met or until God reveals to you your real need.

5. With thanksgiving. Why thanksgiving? Because a thankless heart is a sick heart. You must remember His goodness to you. Remember first how he has saved you from His wrath for your sins, by not sparing His own beloved son. Remember how he has granted you repentance and faith as undeserved gifts (2 Timothy 2:25, Ephesians 2:8). Remember how he has forgiven your sins. Remember how he causes the sun to shine on you every day. Remember how he sustains your every breath, your every heartbeat, moment by moment. He does not have to, and you do not deserve it. Remember how you do not have to suffer unspeakable suffering for eternity in hell anymore (which you deserve) but have been granted the promise of eternal life with no tears, no pain and an inheritance to come as a fellow heir with Christ (O blessed be God for this promise!) O troubled sinner, recount his blessings! This benefits you in at least four ways:

a) First, this reminds you that God is for you and not against you! (Romans 8:31) “He who did not spare his own son but gave Him up for us all, how will he not also with Him graciously give us all things?”

b) Remembering His goodness to us builds faith by reassuring us that if He has been so good to us in the past, he will be good to us in the future.

c) A thankful heart is confident and bold, knowing that even though we may have to walk in the fiery furnace, God will walk with us in it, so that we will not be burned by the fire, no, we will not even have the smell of fire on us.  (See Daniel 3)

d) So, the prayer of thanksgiving becomes a prayer of faith, not a prayer without faith. If you’re not thankful, your faith will be very small.

Therefore, thanksgiving is very important! In fact, it is one of the means by which we achieve the ends hoped for in this passage—namely experiencing the ‘peace of God’ and being anxiety-free.

6.The Peace of God that surpasses all understanding: This is what happens when you pray about everything, earnestly and with thanksgiving. It reduces anxiety as you put your requests before God with a thankful heart, because He has been so good to you in the past. And as you grow more confident that God is for you, his peace comes upon you, even as you consider the troubles and uncertainties of the future.

Why does this peace surpass all understanding?

Because people who observe you experiencing this peace will not be able to understand why you seem so peaceful and calm even when things seems to go wrong in your life. If you’re peaceful only when things are good and anxious when they are not, of course everyone can understand that! That is how everyone is! But when you seem at peace when everything seems to be falling apart, it will not make any sense to the world. It will be beyond their understanding. They’ll wonder what is the reason for the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15), and may even ask you about it. This peace does not have any root in your circumstances, but is rooted in God, who is for you and not against you and will be with you till the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).

Conclusion

Therefore, the key to not be anxious about anything and attaining the peace of God which baffles observers is prayer! Earnest, importunate, thanksgiving-filled, faith-filled, spirit-led, continuous prayer about everything! May the God who answers prayer fill you with a spirit of unceasing faith-filled prayer!

Perhaps something like this.

…now I could look from myself to him, and should reckon that all those graces of God that now were green in me, were yet but like those cracked groats and fourpence-halfpennies that rich men carry in their purses, when their gold is in their trunks at home! Oh, I saw my gold was in my trunk at home! In Christ my Lord and Saviour! Now Christ was all; all my wisdom, all my righteousness, all my sanctification, and all my redemption.

 —John Bunyan, in “Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners”, emphasis mine

Three words. Mind.blown.away.

Here is an excerpt from the sermon “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection” by Thomas Chalmers. (Emphasis mine)

(The full sermon can be read here.)

You have all heard that nature abhors a vaccum. Such, at least, is the nature of the heart, that thought the room which is in it may change one inmate for another, it can not be left void without pain of most intolerable suffering. It is not enough, then, to argue the folly of an existing affection. It is not enough, in the terms of forcible or an affecting demonstration, to make good the evanescence of its object. It may not even be enough to associate the threats and terrors of some coming vengeance with the indulgence of it. The heart may still resist every application, by obedience to which it would be finally conducted to a state so much at war with all its appetites as that of downright inanition. So to tear away an affection from the heart as to leave it bare of all its regards and of all its preferences, were a hard and hopeless undertaking, and it would appear as if the alone powerful engine of dispossession were to bring the mastery of another affection to bear upon it. 

In other words, you cannot dislodge sin (which your corrupt heart loves and desires) merely by putting rational arguments against it, being convinced of its evil and futility and by being warned of the damnation that it brings. The desire for sin must be replaced by a greater, more powerful desire-namely a desire for God.

Please read the sermon. Use a dictionary (you’ll need it). It’s worth it.

“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
And in his word I hope.”           
                              — (Psalm 130:5)

I was deeply moved by these words this morning. Some observations herein:

• The psalmist is not waiting in passivity or inactivity. Quite the contrary. He is crying out to God. (v1) He is wrestling in prayer. His cries are aimed at getting God’s attention. He will not let go of God’s robe. He is attempting to fill heaven with his importunate pleas for mercy (v2). He is not waiting in mere prayerless silence.
  
  
• His hope for deliverance is based on who God really is. He knows that the LORD is “…merciful and gracious…” and “…forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…” (Exodus 34:6-7) The basis of his hope of deliverance is on who God really is, as he had revealed Himself through Moses, not based on vague philosophical ideas of God’s goodness and benevolence.
  
  
• Therefore, he banks his hope on God’s word. For me, verse 5 really jumped out as the central theme of this psalm. The psalmist confesses that he is hoping on God’s word. His hope is not wishy-washy. He is not saying, “Oh, I really hope God comes through for me. May be He will. May be He won’t. I wonder what His will is.” His hope is not vague and uncertain.
  
  NO! He is banking on the great and glorious promises of God. That is why his hope is unshakeable. Though the floods of tribulation threaten to sweep him away, He has found a solid rock to stand on. He has been shaken badly, but He will not be moved. That is because he is hoping on God’s precious promises, in His word.
  
  
• His basis of hope is not on what he deserves. This is important to observe. Why else would he write verse 3, and talk about the fact that no-one can escape the holy judgment of God? Everyone is guilty! He is in essence saying, “LORD, I am a sinner, and I don’t deserve any good. If you were to deliver me based on what I deserve, I would have no hope. In fact, I would be crushed under the weight of my sin, and your just judgment.” But he looks away from himself, and looks to God (through the windows of His Word), and sees a God who forgives. So, the psalmist has hope, based on who God is, in spite of who he is.
  
  
• Lastly, he simply does not give up. Oh what an example he is of a man of faith-filled prayer! The watchmen were weary, sleepy and tired but they did not relent, since they knew morning was coming! The psalmist says he is waiting with more earnestness than these watchmen! He knows deliverance is coming! It is on its way! So, he is waiting for it with hope! He is waiting for it with faith!
  
  Amazingly, knowing that deliverance is coming does not make him inactive or careless or passive. Most of us might be tempted to think “Well, if I am so sure that God is on His way, I don’t need to pray anymore! Because it is going to happen anyway.”
  
      But not this psalmist! His solid faith in God’s deliverance causes Him to wait all the more with patience, drives Him to his knees even more and causes Him to pray all the more earnestly that God would come! He even entreats his people to join Him in this hope! This is amazing!

Application

So, what does it mean for God’s people now, facing all sorts of trials and difficult situations? How shall we wait for God? Here are some implications I see:

1. Fold not the arms of prayer. Remember the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18 ? The whole point of the parable is that we should not lose hope and give up praying! Oh learn from this psalmist! Cry out day and night for deliverance. Do not say, “God does not hear me. He is silent.” Perhaps He has so ordained things that your cries for deliverance are the means which move His mighty delivering arm.

2. Remember who God really is. I hear this type of thing far too often from Christians who are going through hardships, “May be this is God’s judgment on me. I have disobeyed him far too much. Now He is just letting me suffer for it.” Do you think He is angry? Do you thing He has become your enemy? Do you think His cup of mercy has run dry? Do you think He has lost patience with you? Do you think He has let you go? After calling you and saving you, has he now left you to perish?

Remember who God is. Remember who God says He is in the Bible. Don’t entertain false ideas about Him for you. That is idolatry. Repent. Which brings me to the next point.

3. Bank all your hope on His word—mainly His promises. Do not be wishy-washy, tossed about by every wave and storm. Be like a tree! (Psalm 1) But how do we get there? By trusting His word. Go and look at all the ‘will’s and ‘shall’s of the Bible. God has said it. God is faithful and unchanging. He will surely do it.

Are you banking on philosophical assumptions about God’s goodness and love? Or are you banking on the solid unchanging word of God? Promises like: His promises to never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5), His promises to be with you till the end of the age (Matthew 28:20), His promises to work all things for the good of those whom He called and love Him (Romans 8:28), His promises to help you and strengthen you, to uphold you with His righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10), His promises to give rest to all who come to Him weary and burdened (Matthew 11:28) are there so that you can rejoice in hope! Bank on His word! Which leads to the next application.

4. Read, meditate and memorize the Bible. Don’t treat the Bible lightly! Memorize it! Read it! Pray it! Fill your mind with it! Never turn away from it! Do you not see that it is food? How shall you live and hope if you do not have His words? Do you not know that faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ? The Bible is such a valuable gift from God! There is no other source from which we can know God more truly but the Bible! There is no other place from where we can learn about the promises of God but the Bible! His words are life! His words are meant to fill us with joy! (John 15:11) Immerse yourself with God’s words. Go right back to Him in prayer with His words!

5. And DO NOT GIVE UP! Remember the psalmist! Remember the watchmen! Remember the persistent widow! Morning is coming! Do you see it? If not, pray for eyes to see! Pray for more faith! (Mark 9:24, Luke 17:5) Refuse to give up! He will surely come!

“For with the LORD there is steadfast love [immovable unending favor], and with Him is plentiful [not just enough, but PLENTIFUL!] redemption. And he will [not might, but WILL] redeem Israel [that’s you!] from all His iniquities.” (Psalm 130:7-8)

Forget yourself! Remember God! Remember His word, His promises! He bought all of them with His precious Son’s blood! (2 Corinthians 1:20, Romans 8:32)

Don’t give up!

Some closing words:

“To wait is not merely to remain impassive. It is to  expect—to look for with patience, and also with submission. It is to long for, but not impatiently; to look for but not to fret at the delay; to watch for, but not restlessly; to feel that if He does not come we will acquiesce, and yet to refuse to let the mind acquiesce in the feeling that He will not come.”

                             —(Quoted in “The Hidden Life of Prayer” by David MacIntyre)

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness for EVERYONE who believes. (Rom. 10:4)

For the Scriptures ays, “EVERYONE who believes in him will not be put to shame.” (Rom. 10:11)

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of ALL, bestowing his riches on ALL who call on him. (Rom. 10:12)

For EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Rom. 10:13)

We must do away with the silly notion that Christianity is not an inclusive religion. It is remarkably inclusive! In fact, I would argue that (practically speaking) Christianity is the most inclusive religion among all! (I say practically because while religions like Hinduism and Buddhism might seem inclusive in theory, however, one cannot be a faithful adherent to those religions without embracing the local culture itself to a large measure. Christianity demands no such allegiance to a particular regional culture or ethnicity)

Just think about it. The call of God goes out to everybody! The offer of salvation(namely that, Believe on the Lord Jesus and be saved) goes to all:

• To all nationalities—whether American, Canadian, Mexican, Brazilian, Indian, Chinese, Korean, Nepalese, Moroccan, Pakistani etc. It is the same call for all countries!
• To all economic statuses— The beggar hears the same call, so does the billionaire, and so does everyone in between.
• To all levels of learning— It goes out to the uneducated fisherman , and it goes out to the professor with 10 doctorates.
• To every age group—The 6-year old hears the same call and the 96 year old as well.
• To every race—black, white, Hispanic, Arab, Asian etc. all hear the same call
• To every political party—Republicans, Libertarians, Independent or Democrats (yes! even liberals) hear the same call from God
• To every religious affiliation—The same invitation goes out to Hindus, Muslims, Atheists, even to Nominal Christians who don’t care about Jesus
• To all, no matter what your history—The same call goes out to the murderer of hundreds and to the humanitarian fighting poverty and disease in Africa.
• To all languages—no matter what you speak! Even sign language!
• To all occupations—businessmen, authors, teachers, construction workers and the unemployed, all hear the same call.

The same call goes out to everyone, male or female, slave or free, sick or healthy, famous or unknown, introvert or extrovert, rich or poor, Jew or Gentile. THE ARMS OF GOD ARE AS WIDE AS THE WORLD! Believe on the LORD Jesus, no matter who you are, and be saved!

The following hymn was written by John Piper to sing at Bethlehem Baptist Church on December 15, 2002.

This was sung in connection with Pastor John’s exposition of Romans 9:6-13.

To the tune of “My Hope Is Built” (“The Solid Rock”)

God’s mighty word can never fail,
Though some be lost and saints be frail.
There is a chosen Israel,
Who cherished Christ and never fell.

All the elect in Christ prevail,
God’s purpose stands it cannot fail.
God’s purpose stands it cannot fail.

O, be not proud of ethnic roots,
Or rest your hope on human fruits.
Let no one boast in flesh and bones,
God makes his offspring out of stones.

All the elect in Christ prevail,
God’s purpose stands it cannot fail.
God’s purpose stands it cannot fail.

God will not share his sovereign reign,
Though one should plot, it is in vain.
God’s mighty promise rules the earth:
The barren woman will give birth!

All the elect in Christ prevail,
God’s purpose stands it cannot fail.
God’s purpose stands it cannot fail.

All-sovereign grace saved us in Christ,
Before our birth pure grace sufficed,
Not from our deeds that man enthralls
Or from our faith, but him who calls.

All the elect in Christ prevail,
God’s purpose stands it cannot fail.
God’s purpose stands it cannot fail.

Sing now to God for sovereign grace;
Rejoice that we may see his face.
Come savor now his firm embrace,
This is our everlasting place.

All the elect in Christ prevail,
God’s purpose stands it cannot fail.
God’s purpose stands it cannot fail.

                                                                                            © John Piper

                                         (For the related sermons, click here, here and here)

If you’re taking a theology class this semester (no matter what your major), I would like to offer you some encouragement. You may be thinking, “I don’t need this class. It is so unrelated to my major. I am not even interested in it. Plus, it is so boring!”, and you are probably right. I felt the same way when I took my theology classes at LU. In fact, I think I slept through most of them.

THEO 201

However, let me encourage you with my personal story of how God used those classes to profoundly impact me for His glory. I took Theology 201 with Dr. Kenneth Cleaver in Fall of 2008 (I think). I enjoyed the class somewhat, because he made it very interesting, but nevertheless, I slept through the class most of the time. One of the assignments, however, that was part of the class was to read “Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ” by John Piper and do an online “fill the missing blanks” assignment. It was an extra reading and not worth much of the whole grade, so I didn’t really put much effort into it and skimmed through the whole thing in like one hour. However, though I wasn’t paying much attention to the reading and didn’t retain too much of what I read, I remember feeling that the book touched me really deep inside the heart, like very few books had done before. In fact, the feeling was so profound that I can still remember it.

THEO 202

Next was Theology 202 with Dr. Craig Hinkson (which I wasn’t too happy about since I wanted to take Dr. Cleaver again). But that class surprised me in many ways. First, I really liked Dr. Hinkson—how much time he would spend trying to get to know the students personally, asking for prayer requests, following up with their life, not just superficial knowing, but he really wanted to be their friend. Many students didn’t like that, but I really appreciated him for it. He even remembered my name and showed genuine interest in me. I was psyched!

The class itself was very engaging to me and challenging to my mind (when I was awake, that is). There were some very good debates, and some bad ones. He challenged us to think for ourselves, and I thought did a good job of teaching.

Pleasures Evermore

But the biggest thing that happened to me that semester was the extra reading. We were quizzed once a week (or twice may be) on the book “Pleasures Evermore” by Sam Storms, which was an extra reading for the class. What God did through that book in my life is so revolutionary and profound that I don’t have enough words to express it. In fact, what the book did in reshaping my thinking, feeling and my relationship with God was so deep and profound that it is still continuing to this day, and I anticipate (sweetly) that it will continue in the future.

I could go on and on about how many ways God has blessed me through that book. Let me just quickly talk about three of the main ones:

1. The book made me a self-conscious Christian Hedonist. I say ‘self-conscious’ because I believe every true Christian is a Christian Hedonist (though he/she may not be consciously aware of it or not use that term). The book broke my misunderstanding of motivation in following Christ by convincing me that the main motive for following Christ is not mere duty without no connection or relation with a joyful heart. In fact, the Biblical motive for following Christ is that because Christ has become your supreme treasure and the source of your joy, so you go to Christ for your joy. Love for Christ and enjoyment of Him is the motive, not cold, heartless duty alone. The book convinced me that the involvement of emotions/affections in worship and love towards of God is not just important, but is in fact central, and God designed us that way. I could write more, but I would encourage you to either read his book or read Desiring God for free here. To this day, I get more and more convinced of this truth. 

2. John Piper, and the Redwoods.  Through this book, I became really interested in John Piper, because the author quoted a lot from Piper’s “Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist” I had heard some good and bad things about Piper, but since i really enjoyed the book, I started following Piper’s work: since then, Piper has become my spiritual mentor in a way—a relationship that has brought much blessing in my life. Not only that, through Piper, I have got to know and appreciate people like Charles Spurgeon, C.S. Lewis, Jonathan Edwards, John Owen, John Newton, the Puritans! Spiritual giants, the likes of which are seen no more today. A treasure chest of rich spirituality has opened up to me and it all began with this book!

3. The book taught me the value of reading and deep reflection. The book made me think a lot. It made me think hard. It made me confused, even angry at times. And when I think about how many blessings that book has brought, I am so thankful that I can read, and understand and think clearly (sometimes). Reading is such a gift, friends. No wonder, God revealed himself in a book! I love reading now, not because it is a nice way to pass time, but because it has such a power to open your mind and your soul to new worlds that you thought never existed. I want that, especially in my walk with God. I want to experience greater glories with Christ, and one way to do that is books, and lest it goes unsaid, the main book, the Bible!

It’s the same with deep reflection. I feel that much of our misunderstandings and confusion come because we just don’t take enough time to think about an issue. Reflection and meditation are great gifts that God has given us to sort out the truth about Him and enter a deeper walk with Him.

And just to reiterate, all this came from an extra reading in theology class!

Two closing exhortations

1. Therefore, Brethren, don’t despise your theology classes. You are dealing with magnificent truths about God. If you take these classes seriously, you never know that God himself could come down and commune with you as you learn. Get to know Him. Theology is about getting to know Him. And getting to know Him (Know Him, not merely facts about Him) is what being a Christian is all about.

2. Expect big things from extra assignments. May be you are required to read a book for your theology class and you are groaning because that’s another book you have to read. If God can use my extra assignment to radically change my relationship with Him, He can do it in yours as well. So, be enthusiastic about your assignment! Be excited! Anticipate and pray that God would teach you something profound! Expect big things!

***If you haven’t taken a theology class yet, my advice to you would be that don’t take it online. Take it with a good teacher, if possible, in a small class. Find out whether there is extra reading. If there is, take it! ***

Quoted from “Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist” where John Piper quotes Daniel Fuller on “…how the effective missionary avoids the presumption of assisting God”

An analogy for understanding how to live the Christian life without being a legalist is to think of ourselves as being sick and needing a doctor’s help in order to get well. Men begin life with a disposition so inclined to evil that Jesus called them “children of hell” (Matthew 23:15)….In Mark 2:17 and elsewhere Jesus likened Himself to a doctor with the task of healing a man’s sins; He received the name “Jesus” because it was His mission to “save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21) The moment we turn from loving things in this world to bank our hope on God and His promises summed up in Jesus Christ, Jesus takes us, as it were, into His clinic to heal us of our hellish dispositions….True faith means not only being confident that one’s sins are forgiven but also means believing God’s promises that we will have a happy future through eternity. Or, to revert to the metaphor of medicine and the clinic, we must entrust our sick selves to Christ as the Great Physician, with confidence that He will work until our hellishness is transformed into godliness.

[One] implication to be drawn from the doctor analogy is that while he will prescribe certain general instructions for all his patients to follow, he will also make up individual health regimens for the particular needs of each patient. For example, he may direct some to leave their homeland to go to proclaim the Gospel in a foreign land. There is great temptation in such circumstances for people to revert to the legalism of thinking that they are being heroes for God because they are leaving their homeland to endure the rigors of living in a foreign land [this was Peter’s problem] (He is referring to Mark 10:28-30). Those who are dedicated to do hard jobs for God must remind themselves that these rigors are simply for their health. As these difficulties help them become more like Christ, they will sing a song of praise to God, and as a result “many will see it and fear and put their trust in the LORD” (Psalm 40:3). People who regard themselves as invalds rather than heroes will make excellent missionaries.

                                                      (p. 247-248, Emphasis and comment mine)

I commend the whole chapter “Missions: The Battle Cry of Christian Hedonism” (and of course, the book too!) to you.

The book can be found free to download at http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/online-books/desiring-god