AMAZING GRACE IN THE LIFE OF WILLIAM WILBERFORCE
By John Piper
Crossway. 80 pages. £3.99
ISBN 1-58134-875-4
‘John Piper has written a brilliant book because he so clearly understands that capturing the spirit and soul of William Wilberforce is crucial to portraying the man and his mission’. So says Jonathan Aitken who writes the forward and I couldn’t agree more. In essence it’s all about what made Wilberforce tick.
Piper must have felt a real kindred spirit when reading of Wilberforce. For so much of Piper’s own emphasis in his ministry resonates in the life of Wilberforce, namely daily desiring and delighting in God.
What kept Wilberforce going? Piper says that his confidence and joy in God. As Piper says, ‘rob a man of his joyfulness and you rob him of his usefulness’. In fact, it was said of Wilberforce that his indomitable joy moved others to be happy and good. He knew joy in Christ was commanded and so joy for him was not only a means of survival and perseverance but also daily submission. Despite this, Wilberforce knew joy in God did not just happen; he had to cultivate a desire for God on a daily basis. I found this hugely helpful and challenging.
What a needed message for today, as it tells far more than one man’s source of strength but the ultimate source of happiness and joy, a life submitting to and delighting in God.
This book would do us all a great deal of good. So stop the moaning and get this book and live its message!
Wes McNabb,
minister of The Slade Evangelical Church (FIEC), Plumstead, SE London
