With J. I. Packer’s recent passing, it seems only proper to again encourage everyone who has not yet read his book Knowing God to by all means do so. The following quotation is from that very book.

Again, it is to be feared that many today who profess to be Christ’s never learn wisdom, through failure to attend sufficiently to God’s written Word. Cranmer’s Prayer Book lectionary (which all Anglicans are meant to follow) will take one through the Old Testament once, and the New Testament twice, every year. William Gouge, the Puritan, read fifteen chapters regularly each day. The late Archdeacon T. C. Hammond used to read right through the Bible once a quarter. How long is it since you read right through the Bible? Do you spend as much time with the Bible each day as you do even with the newspaper? What fools some of us are!—and we remain fools all our lives, simply because we will not take the trouble to do what has to be done to receive the wisdom of God’s free gift.

Of course, today we may replace Packer’s example of the newspaper with any number other items: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Netflix, podcasts, and even devotionals. “God’s free gift” of wisdom is before us; take and read.