The Roots of Endurance

Newton. Simeon. Wilberforce. They were men of their times. Men who rose to the challenges before them. Men who endured trial after trial, year after year. Men who weathered lifelong opposition with joy in Christ...

Our time is marked by emotional fragility. We shatter easily when misfortune comes our way. In the face of sustained contention, we have little ability to withstand the onslaught, let alone surmount it with joy.

But these men were far from fragile, and can inspire strength that defies resistance and refuses to yield to bitterness. Like Wilberforce, we too can capture a child-like joy in Christ. We too can learn to long for the valley of humiliation as Simeon did, or to follow Newton's example and revel in utter amazement that the Lord God Almighty would 'save a wretch like me'.

John Piper's book gives us a picture of three men who persisted when it appeared they could not. Read of the lives of Newton, Simeon and Wilberforce, and learn not only to finish the race, but to finish it stronger than when you first began.