By John Piper
John Piper's ongoing series of biographical sketches and lessons thereof are absolutely outstanding.This is the 5th book in 'The Swans Are Not Silent' series & the lives of these 3 men, even now, years after they've departed to be with their Lord, sing loudly to stir & awaken our souls.
Since beginning to read this on Saturday evening i've found myself drawn to it every free moment & then some. Barbara is probably sick of me saying "Wait to you here this...", "What do you think of this passage on suffering..." and she probably doesn't need to read the book herself, as much has been read to her.
John Piper begins in the Scriptures, showing us what it means to fill up the afflictions of Christ (Colossians 1:24) and how "God intends for the afflictions of Christ to be presented to the world through the afflictions of His people." (page 24).
Giving us a firm Biblical grasp that suffering is not merely a result of missions, but is in fact a means by which God does missions, Piper then moves on to show this in the lives of these 3 men.
I've read David Daniell's biography of Tyndale & Paton's Autobiography so this book served as a refresher. However i didn't know that much about Judson, so it has served as a great introduction to this mans life & has caused me to want to read more about him.
I highly recommend this book to everyone, the teaching on suffering as being a means in which God visibly reflects Christ suffering is great & biographies are always inspirational & challenging.
In finishing, i'll quote Piper on what has got to be one of the most challenging paragraphs i've ever read:
"Life is fleeting. In a very short time, we will give an account before Jesus Christ, not only as to how well we have fulfilled our vocations, but how well we have obeyed the command to make disciples of all nations."
