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John Piper, Pastor for Preaching and Vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, is one of our favorite authors at Signs of Life. Many authors have solid theology. Many authors have a clear and engaging writing style. Many authors write on pertinent and timely topics. But few have the skill to combine all those elements into books that get us jumping-up-and-down excited about following Jesus.

Whether its his classic Desiring God, his book about the supremacy of God in missions Let the Nations Be Glad!, or biographical works on the puritans and their friends, the theme of Christian hedonism shines through all Piper’s writing. Christian hedonism? Isn’t that an oxymoron? Piper explains via a twist on the famous answer to the first question of the Westminster Confession: it is the Christian’s duty to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. This is the dangerous duty of delight, as Piper would phrase it. We are created for God’s pleasure and He is most pleased when we are delighting in him.

Piper’s concept of Christian hedonism reminds me of a dog I once had. Bogart, a beautiful Gordon Setter lived with us in a little village on the edge of a forest in Normandy. He would romp and frolic through the apple orchard and pasture all day if we would let him. When he would run full-tilt through the field, it was clear for what purpose God had made Bogart: to run. He was made to run and he loved to do it. But when he killed one of the neighbors’ sheep, we had to chain him up. Then he was miserable. Piper’s books urge us to realize that Jesus has broken the chains of sin and we should now run with gusto - to our great delight and God’s perfect pleasure.  It’s what we were created for.