The
Roots of Endurance – Invincible perseverance in the lives of John Newton,
Charles Simeon and William Wilberforce by John Piper
‘Have the full assurance of hope until the
end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith
and patience inherit the promises.’ Hebrews 6:11-12
We live in a time of emotional and
spiritual fragility. ‘We are easily hurt. We pout and mope easily. We blame
easily. We break easily. Our marriages break easily. Our faith breaks easily. We
are easily disheartened, and it seems we have little capacity for surviving and
thriving in the face of criticism and opposition’.
What are the qualities we need to run the
Christian race with perseverance and endure to the end?
In his book ‘The Roots of Endurance’, John
Piper tells the story of three men in history who displayed astounding
resilience in the face of sustained persecution and suffering. Charles Simeon faithfully
served in his Anglican parish in Cambridge for 54 years, despite defiant opposition
from his own parishioners, who locked their pews for the first 12 years of his
ministry so that anybody who did want to listen to his sermons was forced to
stand in the aisles!
William Wilberforce endured as an
evangelical member in the British House of Commons, battling for over 50 years
to see the African slave trade declared illegal. John Newton was himself the
captain of a slave-trading enterprise, but was found by God and subsequently
wrote one of the best-known hymns of all time: ‘Amazing Grace’.
In sketching their lives with a focus on
their long-suffering and steadfast joy, Piper encourages himself and his readers
to learn important lessons in humility and gratitude.
Piper contends that each of these
Christ-followers possessed a compelling joy and faith rooted firmly in Christ
and His Gospel. They knew that they were undeserving sinners who had been
plucked from the fires of hell to serve the One True God. They were in love
with Jesus and cared only for His regard, not the regard of their fellow men. All
three were influential in fighting for evangelicalism in England in the 19th
century. Yet they were tender hearted, caring for the unlovely with costly, practical
love.
I first read this book in my early thirties
and think it’s the kind of book that grows richer with time. The older I get,
the more suffering I see and the greater the temptation to grow bitter, lose
heart or simply give up. I was greatly challenged reading of the tough yet
tender souls of these 3 saints.
I highly recommend this book and the others
in this series: “The Legacy of Sovereign Joy: God’s triumphant grace in the
lives of Augustine, Luther & Calvin” and “Tested by Fire: the fruit of suffering
in the lives of Bunyan, Cowper and Brainerd”.
