Piper's "Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ"

Mark and I are reading this biography of William Tyndale, John Paton and Adoniram Judson and really enjoying it so far. As always, reading about the lives of others as they did far greater works than I, is humbling and puts everything in perspective for me (for the next few minutes of my walk:).

"More and more I am persuaded from Scripture and from the history of missions that God's design for the evangelization of the world and the consummation of his purposes includes the suffering of his ministers and missionaries. To put it more plainly and specifically, God designs that the suffering of his ambassadors is one essential means in the triumphant spread of the Good News among all the peoples of the world" (14).

"Suffering was not just a consequence of the Master's obedience and mission. It was a central strategy of his mission. It was the way he accomplished our salvation. Jesus calls us to join him on the Calvary Road, to take up our cross daily, to hate our lives in this world, and to fall into the ground like a seed and die, that others might live" (20).