The sufferings of Jesus are not only the story of our salvation, they are also the story of the life that God has called us to live. God also ordains sufferings for his own children.

J.I. Packer was one of the great Christians of our time, and it’s now been 100 years since his birth (July 22, 1926) and 6 years since his death (July 17, 2020). So, let me tell you about suffering from his own childhood.

He had not yet reached his 10th birthday when he was being chased by some bullies from his school. Packer ran out into the street to get away from them, and in the process was hit by a truck, caving a portion of his skull in. That’s the explanation for the misshapen head that we always saw when we saw pictures of him.

Because of this accident, doctors put a plate over the top of his skull (on the outside) to protect his damaged skull. Because of this, sports and all those types of things young boys love to do were kept from him. It was a horrible accident. Surely God had nothing to do with that?

Because of the nature of his predicament, Packer became a bookworm, spending an unusual amount of time in the library, learning to read and to treasure books.

And then another event occurred. On a certain birthday, the young Jim Packer had wanted to get a bicycle. I am not certain why his parents didn’t get him the bicycle of his dreams, perhaps it was because of the previous injury and their concern for his well-being. But on that birthday, in spite of the many hints that Packer had left for his parents, the bicycle never showed up. In its place was a typewriter. A typewriter was a much better gift for a young fellow who could not be as active as other boys.

J.I. Packer began his career as one of the finest theologians of our day by using that typewriter to great effect. It was the perfect gift for a man whom God had chosen to teach us His truth and introduce us to such treasures as Knowing God, “Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God”, “Quest for Godliness”, or the wonderful book “Weakness is the Way.”

But for myself and others whose preferred Bible translation is the ESV (English Standard Version), it was J.I. Packer who served as the general editor of this marvelous gift of an essentially literal Bible translation.

I don’t know if J.I. Packer would have loved books and learning had he not been hit by a truck on that fateful day. But I do know that Romans 8:28 teaches us that God causes all things to work for the good to those who love Him and are called according to His own good purposes.

If I am right about it, that the accident of that day set the trajectory of a life that brought so much blessing to the Church of Jesus, then let me say this: I am thankful that in His providential designs, God should so have arranged for such suffering to produce so great a servant.

Here are the words of God: “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?” (Matthew 20:15a, ESV). For all of us who have no appreciation for the sufferings of Christ, nor for the sufferings of His people, these thoughts will seem overwhelmingly strange.

But the great and awesome and loving God has so ordered that all things should bring Him glory and serve our own eternal long-term good.