I have been tempted to think from time to time that because I don't love to hang out with people all the time, I can't be as effective in whatever ministry God calls me to. Being with people is exhausting! It's been easy to believe that I just have to grit my teeth and endure the life of an extrovert.
Reading how Pastor John loved made me reflect back on my time under his leadership. I was blessed to attend Bethlehem Baptist Church from 3rd grade through high school and God used his teaching to change my life and make me more like Christ. Thinking back on my years there, I feel loved by my pastor. I don't just remember feeling loved then, I still feel loved today. I felt John Piper's love for me and for his congregation through the way he loved God and the way he loved God's Word.
I have never seen anyone so joyful in who God is. It radiates from him and for years I couldn't figure out how God could bring that kind of pleasure to someone. But Pastor John wasn't chipper; he was also acutely aware of the severity of sin. Therefore deeply moved by his Savior and satisfied in Christ. He was so joyful in God because the gospel was real to him. And God used him to make the gospel real to me.
I also felt John Piper's love for me in how he loved God's word. When I was younger, I wasn't that interested in his sermons, but I saw how important the Bible was to him. It wasn't that important to me. I thought it was boring. But Piper's love for the Scripture was captivating. Because he was so excited about it, I wanted to know what was so exciting. He treated it as what it really is: the actual words of God. He helped me see that glorious reality. He helped me see the gospel that it contained. God used him to instill in me a love for the Bible.
I never hung out with Pastor John. I think I spoke to him just twice in my 10 years at the church. But I feel loved by him. He showed me the glorious Christ and proclaimed to me Christ's Word. He loved me well by giving me something beyond himself. He held out to me God and God's Word. He showed me love that was greater than the love that he could give because he showed me Christ. And that is a love that will last for eternity.
My prayer as an introvert is that I can love others like Pastor John loved me: by showing them a glimpse of the glorious truths of the gospel of Christ found in the Scripture. Sometimes that will mean hanging out with people. Sometimes it will mean time in solitude. But it always means beholding and proclaiming Christ as all satisfying. Thank you Pastor John for loving me well.
