Other than the Bible, I believe that the very first non-fiction Christian book I read after my regeneration in Christ 15 years ago was Knowing God by J.I. Packer. I was drawn to Packer’s classic by a longing to know God as I never had before, and a book titled Knowing God seemed like a good place to start.

Despite having professed my Christianity throughout life, I now see that I was very, very flawed. I am still very flawed. But it is only my knowledge of God that makes those flaws so visible. And it is only by knowing God’s grace that my repentance will be met with the Lord’s forgiveness and His strength to carry on when tempted to backslide.

My past defiance resulted from my choice to be ignorant of God – oblivious to His grace, His goodness, His love. I chose to be ignorant because I didn’t want to be distracted by a guilty conscience from seeking the material things that would bring me pleasure. “Well, God, I didn’t know that was a sin. How can you hold it against me?”

Spiritual ignorance makes one ripe for worldly pursuits and the poor decisions that follow. I allowed myself to be deceived time and again by the false notion that I could find satisfaction in wealth, accolades and worse – and that I could ultimately rationalize those pursuits before God.

I didn’t and I can’t.

Thus says the Lord:
“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me.”

Jeremiah 9:23-24a

Like many, I took pride in professional and athletic achievements. Although at all times ethical, I sought wealth. I now know that my eyes were always on the wrong target.

“But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me.”

I will always struggle with my pride. Most do. But I now glory in my knowledge and love of the Lord. Of course, I strive to make my glorying productive by making it not about me but about God.

A Word of Caution

While false doctrine is perhaps the most dangerous deception, ignorance by choice can’t be far behind. Unfortunately, that is a choice made by many. The consequence of such a choice is a fragile love of the Lord. Because it is a fragile love – if it is a love at all – it is vulnerable to false doctrine. What false doctrine might that be? Well, it can be summarized by ignorance of or resistance to Jesus’ words in John 14:6:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

The notion that we may achieve eternal life simply by being a good person is false doctrine. The concept that Jesus is anyone other than the Son of God who died on the cross as a propitiation for our sins is false doctrine.

Packer makes it clear that we were made by God to know God. The Lord’s words to the prophet Hosea demonstrate that knowledge of Him is precisely what He wants of us:

For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Hosea 6:6

God wants us to grow in our knowledge of Him so that we may also grow in our love for Him. To love Him is to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, be obedient to His word and love others as we love ourselves.

“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

Colossians 1:9-10