Explorations in Knowing God
Four years ago, at the Bible Study I was attending, a book was given out to thirty something college students from an anonymous donor. The point was made that this book was so impacting in the life of this anonymous person that they wanted it to be accessible to our group. The challenge was made to take a book only if you truly planned on reading it. I took it eagerly and started reading right away. I recognized the book as a Christian classic, one every Christian should read. You’re probably familiar with it. The book is “Knowing God.” by J.I. Packer.
Unfortunately, at that time I only made it a quarter of the way through the book before it somehow ended up back on my shelf, unfinished. So last week a friend and I decided to go through the book together. Needless to say, I am very excited! I just finished chapter two this morning, and thought I would share some impacting statements.
Packer makes a point that there is a difference between knowing God and knowing about God.
“One can know a great deal about God without much knowledge of Him. We read books about theological exposition and apologetics. We dip around in Christian history, and study the Christian creed. We learn to find our way around in the Scriptures… Our friends tell us how much they value our contribution… All very fine- yet interest in theology, and knowledge about God, and the capacity to think clearly and talk well on Christian themes, is not at all the same thing as knowing him.“*
“One can know a great deal about godliness without much knowledge of God…In this analytical and technological age there is no shortage of books on church booktables, or sermons from the pulpits, on how to pray, how to witness, how to read our Bibles…The questions is not whether we are good at theology…The question is, can we say, simply, honestly, not because we feel that as evangelicals we ought to, but because it is a plain matter of fact, that we have known God, and that because we have known God the unpleasantness we have had, or the pleasantness we have not had, through being Christians does not matter to us?
If we really knew God, this is what we would be saying, and if we are not saying it, that is a sign that we need to face ourselves more sharply with the difference between knowing God and merely knowing about him.”*
How convicted I am by reading that… and how I long to say, as a plain matter of fact, that I have known God…
(*Excerpt from Pages 26 & 27, italics mine)
July 12th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
A hard, hard truth, evaded by many, many people in Christian society.
I once could not say it, but would’ve lied or evaded the question. Now I can. I have known God, and all the unpleasantness I’ve had DOES NOT MATTER.
I know this truth firmly in my mind. I feel this truth without any need to force myself into feeling it, but simply as part of my being. I hope others can, as well.