"Si comprehendi non est deus" (if you understand him, he is not God), once observed the great medieval theologian Augustine.  In an age in which more and more people of religion become ever more dogmatic in what they believe, increasingly caustic in their advocacy of their positions, and frighteningly reticent to engage in any effort to understand other viewpoints, we can learn much from Augustine's insight.  If we think we understand God completely, we certainly do not.  Yes, we can learn much about God, and yes, we can enjoy a relationship with God, but no, we will never understand him totally. Our feeble attempts to develop doctrines (that of election comes readily to mind) or pictures of God (various depictions of heaven and hell through the ages) are just that, feeble efforts by physical beings to understand a metaphysical presence.  Pity those who assert that they have dotted all their "i's" and crossed all their "t's" in regard to God, and that they have wrapped everything there is to know about him into a nice, neat package which anyone can open and use:  God is anything but a box.
     We live in shadows, really, wondering, searching, and finding, but never finding it all. God remains mystery.  Yes, many centuries ago he revealed himself in Jesus Christ, but even this did not answer all the questions people had about God.
     Jesus did, however, answer one question, perhaps the most important one of all:  does God love us?
     Yes.  And in the long run, if God is to be God, this is really all we need to know.