Many men have had a great influence on my walk with Christ. Some of these men I have never met in person, but they have had great influence through various forms of teaching. Dr. Packer is certainly one of these men.
I recently found out that on Christmas Day, Dr. Packer he was hit hard with macular degeneration and, along with going blind over time, will probably never have the ability to read or write again. I find this difficult because I know how much that has been a part of his life and work of the Gospel he has accomplished. I am very grateful, and can glean much from, his response to the faithfulness of God in Christ in this situation. You can read about it here:
http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/j-i-packer-89-on-losing-sight-but-seeing-christ
Dr. Packer’s work has been greatly beneficial for the body of Christ. I personally have not read too much of his work as of yet, but it is certainly on my to-read list. His book Knowing God I am hoping to read within the next few months and will probably follow that with Weakness Is the Way: Life with Christ Our Strength. I have read his books Christianity: The True Humanism (written with Thomas Howard) and 18 Words: The Most Important Words You Will Ever Know. I have also been fortunate to listen to his teaching on the Holy Spirit entitled “The Holy Spirit in Scripture & Theology” (this is a free message through the C.S. Lewis Institute). I have also listened to various other teachings and seen videos on YouTube.
Even with the limited exposure that I have had with the vast quantity of Dr. Packer’s work, I still put him on my list of teachers that have had great influence on my walk with Christ. His message that has had the greatest impact on me thus far is a sermon entitled “On Personal Holiness”. I watched this for a class in conjunction with reading Dallas Willard’s book The Great Omission: Rediscovering Jesus’ Essential Teachings on Discipleship. I thoroughly recommend this teaching for every disciple of Christ.
What blesses me the most with studying Dr. Packer is his faithfulness to our Lord and the calling our Lord has put on his life (which is evident in the interview in the above link). It is a challenge and testimony to me. He has done fantastic work for the Kingdom of Christ in who Jesus called him to be. My greatest hope is that the faithfulness of Christ, and my faithfulness to him, will be as evident in my life. Indeed, great faithfulness to our Lord should be all of our goals.
My fellow brothers and sisters, may the last answer to Dr. Packer’s most recent interview (linked above) be true of us:
What would be your final words to the church?
I think I can boil it down to four words: “Glorify Christ every way.”
Here are a few things to enjoy from Dr. Packer:
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