Desiring God by John Piper

Desiring God is a book about finding joy and satisfaction in God and God alone. Throughout the pages of the book, author John Piper teaches that the Christian need not choose between delight and duty in the spiritual walk. He offers the opinion that the only true way to glorify God is to find joy in His presence and His person. Using a multitude of Scriptures to back up his point of view, Piper introduces Christian hedonism which states that "delighting in Him [God] is the work of our lives." Piper puts forth the claim that God can only be glorified in our lives when we are satisfied in Him.

To be honest, this book was not exactly what I expected it to be, not that that's either good or bad. In fact, I found the book to be very deep and detailed, so much so, that I will need to re-read it several times before I can truly grasp all of what he's trying to say. The book is rather lengthy, and Piper has a tendency to repeat himself a lot. Unfortunately, when he repeats himself, he uses the same language as before instead of restating things in a clearer (or even different) manner.

Because the book was so long and so deep, I fear I found the process of getting through it rather tedious. There were insightful passages, but overall, I felt a bit overwhelmed. I want to understand what I'm reading so that I can make a decision on whether or not I agree. To do so with this book will require me to read it several more times, but honestly, I don't know that it's worth the effort. There are too many other books out there that I can read through and grasp fully on the first time.

Again, I am not saying that the book is bad. It was just difficult to follow, at least for me. Parts of it did cause me to examine my Christian walk and ask myself, "Am I a joyful Christian?" After all, when others look at me, they should see Christ, the joy of the world. For this insight, as well as some other golden nuggets, I give the book a rating of "Good."

I received this book as part of the Waterbrook Multnomah Blogging for Books program. The opinion stated here is my own. I was not required to write a positive review.