Encouragement from John Piper

Piper's defining work.

"The difference between Uncle Sam and Jesus Christ is that Uncle Sam won't enlist you in his service unless you are healthy and Jesus won't enlist you unless you are sick:  'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I came not to call the righteous, but sinners' (Mark 2:17).  Christianity is fundamentally convalescence ('Pray without ceasing' = Keep buzzing the nurse).  Patients do not serve physicians. They trust them for good prescriptions. The Sermon on the Mount and the Ten Commandments are the Doctor's prescribed health regimen, not the employee's job description."

From Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist by John Piper