Pure Church

If we are exiles and refugees on earth (1 Peter 2:11), and if our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), and if nothing can separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:35), and if his steadfast love is better than life (Psalm 63:3), and if all hardship is working for us an eternal weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17), then we will give to the winds our fears and "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). We will count everything as rubbish in comparison with Christ (Philippians 3:7-8). We will "joyfully accept the plundering of our property" for the sake of unpopular acts of mercy (Hebrews 10:34). We will choose "rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin," and will count "the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt" (Hebrews 11:25-26).

John Piper, Don't Waste Your Life (Crossway), p. 108.