Dear Church Family,
One of my heroes of the faith went to be with the Lord last week. J. I. Packer, though of slight build, stood as a spiritual giant in a world desperate for a living demonstration of Biblical truth. I read many tributes about him over the weekend. You can find many at https://www.thegospelcoalition.org where I just counted more than ten on the home page. I encourage you to read them and to aspire to grow in grace as Packer did throughout his life. One article has forty memorable quotes from the many books and articles that Packer wrote. Over the next few days I will share some of them with ‘minimal’ comment. Today I give you three that offer wisdom that can apply to living in our time of pandemic.
“‘Wait on the Lord’ is a constant refrain in the Psalms, and it is a necessary word, for God often keeps us waiting. He is not in such a hurry as we are, and it is not his way to give more light on the future than we need for action in the present, or to guide us more than one step at a time. When in doubt, do nothing, but continue to wait on God. When action is needed, light will come.”
“God uses chronic pain and weakness, along with other afflictions, as his chisel for sculpting our lives. Felt weakness deepens dependence on Christ for strength each day. The weaker we feel, the harder we lean. And the harder we lean, the stronger we grow spiritually, even while our bodies waste away. To live with your ‘thorn’ uncomplainingly—that is, sweet, patient, and free in heart to love and help others, even though every day you feel weak—is true sanctification. It is true healing for the spirit. It is a supreme victory of grace.”
“Optimism hopes for the best without any guarantee of its arriving and is often no more than whistling in the dark. Christian hope, by contrast, is faith looking ahead to the fulfillment of the promises of God. . . . Optimism is a wish without warrant; Christian hope is a certainty, guaranteed by God himself. Optimism reflects ignorance as to whether good things will ever actually come. Christian hope expresses knowledge that every day of his life, and every moment beyond it, the believer can say with truth, on the basis of God’s own commitment, that the best is yet to come.”
If you have read those last three paragraphs in less than two minutes, you may be a fast reader, but you need to go back, slow down and chew over the rich meat that each quote contains. These words, and many more, show how J. I. Packer lived out the truth of his classic book “Knowing God.” May we be hearers and doers of the Word of God!
With great hope,
Pastor Gillikin