in Knowing God by J.I. Packer and I just have to share it. Before I start the quote, some quick facts about this book:

• first published in 1973
• considered a classic, must-read for believers
• over 1 million sold
• listed on several “most influential” books lists

Where is the sense of distance and difference, then, between believers in Bible times and ourselves? It is excluded. On what grounds? On the grounds that God does not change. Fellowship with him, trust in his word, living by faith, standing on the promises of God, are essentially the same realities for us today as they were for Old and New Testament believers. This thought brings comfort as we enter into the perplexities of each day: amid all the changes and uncertainties of life in a nuclear age, God and his Christ remain the same–almighty to save.

But the thought brings a searching challenge too. If our God is the same as the God of New Testament believers, how can we justify ourselves in resting content with an experience of communion with him, and a level of Christian conduct, that falls so far below theirs? If God is the same, this is not an issue that any one of us can evade.

Oh, God, please don’t let me rest content in my own level of communion with you!