昨天我們在結束的時候提到，我們越明白神的本性，就越能肯定祂的決定的正確性。你有沒有想過，在過去多個世紀裡面，神的僕人為何在最惡劣的環境下依然能為神堅定不移？答案是：因為他們熟悉神的本性和品格。

現代的基督徒有一個令我十分關注的情況，那就是他們對神的本性認識得很少。我成了基督徒後參加的第一個查經系列是關於神的屬性。對年青的基督徒來說，那課程並不容易，但那幾個星期的教導卻為我往後多年建立了穩固的信仰根基。我在那裡第一次聽到一些終生伴隨我的話。例如：「只有在我們明白神是誰時，才能夠明白祂所做的事。」以及：「我們必須小心，不要憑我們所見的來解釋神的品格，而要憑神的品格來解釋我們的所見。」

巴刻（J.I. Packer）在《認識神》（Knowing God）這本書中說：「對神無知──既不認識神的做法，也不懂得與祂實踐相交──是今天教會很多軟弱的根源」。我同意這個說法。現代的教會往往是透過望遠鏡錯誤的一面來看神，把全能者縮小成為侏儒。結果是：教會坐滿侏儒基督徒，他們對自己承諾要事奉的神只有表面的知識。

Yesterday we ended with the statement that the more we understand God's nature, the more certain we will be about the rightness of His decisions. Have you ever wondered how it is that over the centuries, men and women have stood for God in the most unenviable circumstances? The answer is this: they were familiar with the nature and character of God.

One of the things that concerns me about many modern-day Christians is that they know little about the nature of God. The very first series of Bible studies I attended after I became a Christian was on the subject of the attributes of God. It was tough going for a young Christian, but those weeks of teaching built under me a foundation which has stood solid over the years. It was there that I heard for the first time statements that have stayed with me all my life. Statements such as: "It is only when we understand who God is that we will understand what He does." And: "We must be careful not to interpret God's character by what we see, but what we see by God's character."

J.I. Packer, in his book Knowing God, says: "The ignorance of God - ignorance both of His ways and of the practice of communion with Him - lies at the root of much of the church's weakness today." I agree. The modern Church, generally speaking, looks at God through the wrong end of a telescope and ends up reducing the Almighty to pygmy proportions. And what is the result? Our pews are filled with pygmy Christians who have only a superficial knowledge of the God they are pledged to serve.