The ninth installment of Great Quotations to challenge and inspire. These ten come from author/pastor John Piper (whose home I had the pleasure of visiting as a recent college graduate back in 1983). By the way, the picture above is as close as I could get to "Piper." ☺
81. "The critical question for our generation, and for every generation, is this: if you could have heaven, with no sickness, with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or natural disasters ... could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?" (zing) – John Piper
82. "If you don't savor Christ, you haven’t seen Him for who He is. If you don’t prize Him above all things, you haven't apprehended His true worth." – John Piper
83. "Sometimes people stumble over the vastness (of Space) ... it does seem to make us infinitesimally small. But the meaning of this magnitude is not mainly about us. It’s about God ... The reason for wasting so much space in a universe to house a speck of humanity is to make a point about our Maker, not us." – John Piper
84. "(What makes Jesus glorious is) the admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies." – Jonathan Edwards, but John Piper quotes it so often it seems like Piper!
85. "The physical eye is meant to say to the spiritual eye, 'Not this, but the maker of this, is the Desire of your soul'" (regarding the created universe). – John Piper
86. "We are all starved for the glory of God, not self. No one goes to the Grand Canyon to increase self-esteem. Why do we go? Because there is greater healing for the soul in beholding splendor than there is in beholding self." – John Piper
87. "The glory of God in and through the Scriptures is a real, objective, self-authenticating reality. Christian faith is not a leap in the dark. It is not a guess or a wager. God is not honored if he is chosen by the flip of a coin. A leap into the unknown is no honor to one who has made himself known." – John Piper
88. "What turned my focus away from historical reasoning (for Bible's authority) as a support for faith was the realization that most people in the world – especially in the less-educated, developing world – have neither the training nor the time to pursue such detailed arguments in support of their faith. And yet the Bible assumes that those who hear the gospel may know the truth of it and may stake their lives on it – indeed must stake their lives on it." – John Piper
89. "If well-grounded, saving faith is to be available to all, it must be found in a more direct way than through detailed historical arguments." – John Piper
90. "Why does loving money make you blind to the glory of Jesus? Because the glory of Jesus lays claim on our hearts as the greatest treasure in the world ... when we see him for who he is – infinitely beautiful, valuable, and satisfying – our love for money is neutralized." – John Piper