As we come to the end of this book, it is apparent that
not all the questions have been answered, not all the doubts dispelled, not all the difficulties resolved, not all the mystery cleared away.
The Christian has the obligation to understand his faith as fully as possible -- to push his questions no matter how perplexing, to face difficulties no matter how shattering, and to do his best, with God's help, to surmount the problems. As he goes through life the Christian can expect to receive greater illumination, firmer assurance, deeper knowledge, and sounder understanding. But it is wrong to assume that finally all the mystery will disappear and one will have "all the answers" -whether as a result of "reading one more book," or going to another conference, or having some particularly clarifying vision. As long as he lives, the Christian will be forced to say with Paul, "Now we see through a glass, darkly" ( I Cor. 13: 12).
No one who is trying to know and love and serve God can ever claim that he has fully realized his goal. In fact, the greater his depth of understanding, the greater will be his apprehension of the sense of mystery underlying the relationship between God and man. He will see that he has come up against something for which he does not have the full answer, and for which he will never have the full answer. Mystery will always remain, mystery that will never be rationally grasped or explained. The Christian, until the end of his life, must confess, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief" ( Mark 9: 24). What can we say, in the light of this situation?
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