I used to work as a grunt in a machine shop. Whatever dirty job the boss wanted done was assigned to me. The problem–besides the dirt and tedium–was that my boss usually only told me half of what I needed to know to complete the job. When I got half done, I’d ask for additional directions and get–you guessed it–half of what I needed to know to finish. This process would repeat itself. Purists in the audience will be quick to point out that the theoretical conclusion of always getting half meant I would never actually finish! Luckily the tasks were entirely practical and I was eventually able to get close enough to declare the jobs complete for all practical purposes.

I would have benefited tremendously from some kind of road map to my end goal, how a task fit into the larger scheme of things, and the step-by-step directions for how to get there. In chapter 1 of J. I. Packer’s Knowing God, the author provides all three. In fact, The Study of God delivers with three main thrusts:

• Road map
• Reasons
• Recipe

Road Map

Packer opens the chapter with a discussion of the universe. He asserts that God made the universe, that it operates according to principles He put in place, and that where we’re going in the book requires us to at least agree to think about it in this way. As such, Packer invites the skeptic to table their doubts for a time and join him on the journey. His request:

I ask you for the moment to stop your ears the those who tell you there is no road to knowledge about God, and come a little way with me and see. After all, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and anyone who is actually following a recognised road will not be too worried if he hears nontravellers telling each other that no such road exists.

In the same way we trust MapQuest or our GPS to show us the way–until the directions tell us to take a left turn into a corn field–Packer is inviting us to trust him that there is, indeed, a road to God that can be followed. He says that if we give him a chance we’ll see the road and not the corn field.

More on Road map, Reasons, and Recipe in subsequent posts…