The main reason God has given us minds is that we might seek out and find all the reasons that exist for treasuring him in all things and above all things.
John PiperThe strength of patience hangs on our capacity to believe that God is up to something good for us in all our delays and detours.
John PiperThis is the centre of the gospel - this is what the Garden of Gethsemane and Good Friday are all about - that God has done astonishing and costly things to draw us near.
John PiperThere is a warning. The path of God-exalting joy will cost you your life. Jesus said, “Whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” In other words, it is better to lose your life than to waste it. If you live gladly to make others glad in God, your life will be hard, your risks will be high, and your joy will be full. This is not a book about how to avoid a wounded life, but how to avoid a wasted life. Some of you will die in the service of Christ. That will not be a tragedy. Treasuring life above Christ is a tragedy.
John Piper