Monday, January 11, 2010

Piper on "God Hunger" and the Value of the Fast

John Piper on the value of biblical fasting (HT: Mona Leiter):

God’s Greatest Adversaries Are His Gifts

The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14:18-20). The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable.


Piper's book, "A Hunger for God", is available to download for free through the Desiring God Christian Resource Library. Excellent discussion of the valuable, biblical model of drawing close to Christ through fasting.

1 comment:

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Thanks for that thought-provoking citation!