finishing our course with joy

Thinning hair, failing eyesight, and arthritic hands reveal an inescapable truth: we’re only getting older.

But that doesn’t mean we should simply sit back and take it easy. In Finishing Our Course with Joy, renowned theologian and author J. I. Packer challenged us to embrace old age as an opportunity for continued learning, careful planning, and heartfelt discipleship. His pastoral words and personal stories encouraged us to press on toward the upward call of God with endurance and grace—that we might continue to glorify God in our aging and finish our lives with joy.

James Innell Packer, better known to many as J. I. Packer, was one of the most famous and influential evangelical leaders of our time. He died Friday, July 17, 2020 at age 93. 

"When asked late in life what his final words to the church might be, Packer replied, “I think I can boil it down to four words: Glorify Christ every way.” That can serve as an epitaph for what Packer did in his lifetime and what he is doing now." (copied from a tribute to Packer by  Leland Ryken is Emeritus Professor of English at Wheaton College).