I mentioned the other day that I had not marked anything on Page 72 of Don’t Waste Your Life, the John Piper book I am reading that I don’t remember reading except that I made a dog ear on that page.
It turns out that I did indeed take a pen to that book a couple of pages later. In fact, I underlined one sentence in red. I very rarely reach for a red pen.
“Any thing but a denial of the truth.” It’s part of a John Bunyan quote about whether it’s ever appropriate for Christians to retreat rather than take a stand for their faith. Bunyan’s point was that it’s OK to choose not to risk life or limb for a variety of reasons — “Any thing but a denial of the truth.”
And then about 10 pages later, I brought out the red pen again: “It is the will of God that we be uncertain about how life on this earth will turn out for us. And therefore it is the will of the Lord that we take risks for the cause of God.”
So we stand our ground on the truth of who Christ is, as we approach the annual observance of how he paid the price for refusing to deny the truth of who he is.
Part of that truth, of course, is referring to Jesus Christ in the present tense.
The dog ear and the underlined sentences are messages from my past self, left for a time when their full meaning would resonate for my present-day self.
