"I've Wasted It, I've Wasted It!"

One of the greatest passages in this book. John Piper illustrates how he had seen people die without accepting Jesus into their life, but none was so impactful on him as when a man in his old age had finally stopped hardening his heart and accepted Jesus. He exclaims, "I've wasted it, I've wasted it!", as soon as he accepts Jesus. Being 23 years old, I've realized it is very easy to wind up like the old man. So many times in my life I've been on fire for Jesus only to fall to sin time and time again. I've been stumbling my whole way so far, now is the time to mature as a christian and really start living for Jesus.

"Only one Life, 'Twill Soon will be Past"

John Piper recounts a plaque that was hung on his kitchen, that states:" Only One Life, Twill soon be past; Only whats done for christ will last." The main message of the book, our main purpose in life is to glorify Christ's name

"The Lost Years"

Here John recounts a poem he made in highschool that tackles the idea of mans search for meaning. An old man searched in vain for the meaning of life when he was younger without finding it now he must search again. This is a goal John had before he was about to embark on his college career.

"Existentialism was the Air We Breathed"

As John recounts, the theory of Existentialism was really prevalent in his college years. "Existence precedes essence". "There is no essence outside of you to pursue or conform to". Men creates his essence by the act of creating or being, there are no external forces such as God to bring meaning or essence. He then recounts the play "Waiting for Godot". I still recall reading this play one winter, and asking my teacher what it all meant. His response was it can mean different things to different people. John Piper's view gave me a fresh take on the book. Godot never comes. Like Vladimir and Estragon most people are waiting, and seeking to find the meaning of life. They are wound up as consumers. More money, more entertainment, more food. Instead of creating and being producers, creating their own essence. That is what John Piper thought the "Waiting for Godot" meant.

"The Answer, the answer was blowin in the wind"

John Piper recalls the the Beatles and Bob dylan which captures the Existentialist era. Songs with no real meaning, that were subjective and prodded you to find their meaning, through your own eyes. This is so similar to my highschool days when all the class would read the same passage and arrive at different conclusions as to what the author meant.

"The man with Long Hair and Nickers"

Francis Schaeffer, author of the book "The God who is There" had a profound impact on John. It showed him the objective nature of God, and that without god man is nothing. He concluded he must stay on the road of objective truth. He concluded that one must learn the obvious, " that there is truth, that there is objective being and objective value".

"The man who taught me to see"

John Piper attributes much of his joy and usefullness in college to C.S. Lewis. First starting with "Mere Christianity" He taught John that new ideas are not inferior to old ideas and that one can be a poet while also being rational at the same time. One interesting thing he learned from lewis is that one must enjoy the little things in life. The coolness of a pillow at night, the warmth of the suns rays," the sheer being of things". I think I will read some C.S. Lewis after finishing this book. 

"I bless you, Mono, for my whole Life"

We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.- Proverbs 16:9. Decisions are part of life. Laying sick in bed with Mononucleosis, John Piper decided to drop his dream of becoming a doctor, to become a preacher. Its very sobering to think that we are not in control of our lives, sickness, accidents are always pouncing at the door. But when times are tough it is Jesus who we must seek refuge in. Taking up your cross everyday is already a difficult task but to carry the burdens of other people as a preacher, must be a lot harder. I'm reminded of an acquaintance I knew in college who dropped aerospace engineering to go to bible college, I hope he's doing alright.

Takeaways:

It seems like John Piper is in a very similar situation to me, he's just out of the woods and understands that Jesus should be the only thing we should live for. He has learned a lot in college, but now its time to mature to take actionable steps. and make a plan to live for christ. But what does that look like, what does that entail? In the next chapters he will reveal this through scripture.