Friday Favorites: Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ by John Piper, reviewed

This weeks favorite has been a favorite of mine for several years now. I would say it's in my top five favorite books of all time actually, right under the Bible and Hinds Feet on High Places. I remember the first time I read Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ, it was the summer in Ohio. I was captured at the first line, "The created universe is all about glory. The deepest longing of the human heart and the deepest meaning of heaven and earth are summed up in this: the glory of God," I devoured the rest of the book. Quite honestly I don't think I've been the same since, the words on it's pages were a revolution for my law abiding, pharisee soul.

Each page I turned served up liberating truth, the more I read the faster I turned. The glory of God, the deepest hunger of my heart came into sharp focus, magnifying him and reducing me to my rightful place in my own eyes. Some of the truths I had certainly known. Many of the concepts I remember hearing in crumbly moldering form at some point, but the cohesion and beauty of John Piper's writing was like a tidal wave. I remember at times while reading, some sentence bursting on my mind, I would jump up to find my husband and dancing up and down like a two year old over candy I'd read it to him!

I have read the book a number of times since then and used it in study groups, each time like a kaleidoscope a glorious facet of Jesus has stood out fresh. It's a book I go back to and I fall in love all over again, certain sections I can't read with dry eyes. In it are these truths of Jesus; The Lion and the Lamb, The Waves and the Wind Still Know His Voice, The Glory of Rescuing Sinners, The Incarnate Wealth of the Compassion of God, The Tough Side, these are just a few of the chapter titles.

Here are some of my favorite quotes, snapshots of what you will find in the book: "We are all starved for the glory of God, not self... there is greater healing for the soul in beholding splendor than there is in beholding self." "Our joy in savoring God and his glory in saving us are one." "God did not create to get wealth; he created to display wealth - the wealth of his glory for the enjoyment of his people." "The glory of Jesus Christ is that he is always out of sync with the world and therefore always relevant for the world... Better to let him be what he is, because it is often the offensive side of Jesus that we need most."

"There is no more important issue in life than seeing Jesus for who he really is and savoring what we see above all else." I encourage you to read Seeing and Savoring Jesus, his beauty and character are painted with broad brush strokes of color and fine detail to shape. If you come to it's pages hungry it will revive your soul.

What are you reading or have you read that has shaped your view of Jesus Christ?