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 Don’t Waste Your Life
by John Piper
Piper’s book relates a story from Reader’s Digest that describes a couple, ages 59 and 51, who have retired to Florida. They spend their time boating, playing softball, and collecting shells. Supposedly they are a success story having made enough money to retire and “enjoy” life. Piper pleads with the reader not to waste your life as this couple is doing. He describes their lives as tragedies.
John Piper challenges the Christian to not seek comfort, pleasure or security as defined by the world. He preaches to pour out our lives for God. “ ‘Being spent’ may sound dour. It is not. It is life-giving when we are spent to make others glad in God.”
“Don’t Waste Your Life” has the potential to be life changing in the hands of Christians who have never been confronted with what a meaningful life looks like. It, also, can reorient the Christian who has found himself or herself settling for what the world says is worthwhile. This is a great book!
 Searching for God Knows What
by Donald Miller
Donald Miller is irritating and challenging in His 2004 book, “Searching for God Knows What.”
He is irritating, because He is convinced that rigorous studying of the Bible does not enlighten the reader about God and His love for us. He believes, if I understand him correctly, that the Bible should be read as a story leaving the reader with impressions and an emotional payoff. As someone who believes that we are to, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly” Col. 3:16 and “correctly handle(s) the word of Truth,” 2 Tim. 2:15, his ideas are at the very least Bible lite and at the very worse dangerous. They can be dangerous because they open the door for all kinds of distortion. Miller writes, “It makes me wonder if all our time spent making lists would be better spent painting or writing or singing or learning to speak stories.” Really? Painting can replace the serious study of God’s word, breaking down passages to understand the meaning? Donald Miller is, also, irritating because almost all of his negative examples involve political conservatives or theological conservatives. It is predictable that he mentions listening to NPR without editorializing but criticizes Fox News.
This is not to say the book is without merit. Mr. Miller is a talented writer. His ability to write a book about his musings on God and make it an enjoyable read are laudable. Also, I found the book challenging. I believe Miller is at His best when He is exposing Christians and himself. “The Circus, and I am talking about life now really sucks. It feels like we all have these little acts, these stupid things we do that we all hang our hats on. The Fall has make monkeys of us, for crying out loud… we all are running around, in a way, trying to get a bunch of people to clap for us … to say we are normal.” He goes on to say, “I would imagine, then, that the repentance we are called to is about choosing one audience over another. The heart of man does not have the power to give glory.”
I, also, appreciated the author’s afterword about the holiness of God and Christ’s necessary death “… as a propitiation for God’s wrath.” I just think it’s more central to the story He says we need to read.
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