We strive to know the truths of God’s Word because we believe that by knowing them we will know more about God. While we understand that we can never know God exhaustively (Psa 145:3), we believe that we can know some things about him truly. And the primary way we can know him is through his Word.

Now knowing the truths of God’s Word is not easy. Many things in the Bible are difficult to understand (2 Pet 3:16), but this does not deter us from trying nor does it alarm us that we do not understand it all. An atheist named Peter Hearty once said this about the universe: “There will always be things we don’t understand, at least I hope so, or it would be a very boring world.” We feel the same way about God and his Word.

In our quest for truth we must make great effort while depending upon divine enablement. Two Scriptures in particular remind us of this duel strategy for mining God’s truth.

• Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. 2 Timothy 2:7
• Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. Psalm 119:18

Yes, grasping God’s truth takes real effort, but it is God who gives us understanding. In other words, God is not limited by our natural abilities and “smarts” in revealing his truth to us, yet he is pleased to do so mainly through our efforts to understand, not apart from our efforts. And to those who might wonder if all this mind-blowing effort is worth it the psalmist informs us that what awaits our understanding are “wondrous things.”

So how do we aim to practice this core value at Crosstown? For one, we welcome honest questions about God, faith, the Bible, Jesus, and Christianity. We believe that sincere questions are keys to understanding. We don’t want to settle for simplistic answers to the difficult issues of life. Neither do we wish to keep people away from those “difficult to understand” passages in the Bible. At Crosstown, your questions are welcome. We are probably asking them, too.