Why Does God Hide Himself?

Atheist philosopher Bertrand Russell once was asked what he would say if he were to die and find himself standing before God. His answer was ”I would say ‘Sir, why did you take such pains to hide yourself?’”

I suspect many of us have wondered this at some point. It would be effortless for God to provide far more obvious signs of His existence than He does. Why won’t He?

Some may feel that this question is unreasonable. They may believe that God’s existence is clearly evident and wonder how anyone could doubt it. To support this they may cite, the fine-tuning of the universe, the complexity of life, or perhaps their own personal experience. But even if the strength of these points are granted (and they certainly are not granted by skeptics), it still isn’t difficult to think of many additional, clearer ways God could make His existence known.

For example, suppose someone were to say “God, If you’re real, cause this object in front of me to levitate, and I’ll believe in you.” A person who otherwise wouldn’t have believed in God would probably be much more likely to if He were to do something like this. And it would be very easy for Him to do it. Why doesn’t He? Wouldn’t there be many more believers as a result? The few remaining nonbelievers would be those who stubbornly cover their eyes because they so strongly want there not to be a God. And for those who already believe but are perhaps struggling with doubt, this type of sign could be a tremendous encouragement.

So why does God seem to “take such great pains to hide” Himself? I don’t claim to have a definite answer, but I’ll offer a few possibilities.

I think the first reason is that if God were to always perform a sign on demand, it would quickly become little more than a magic trick. God wants to be related to as a person, not as merely an empirical fact. And let’s be honest: how many people would become so mesmerized with the sign that they wouldn’t bother going beyond it and getting to know the God who performed it?

The second reason is this: if God provided evidence of His existence on demand, why not answer other questions in the same way? Surely God’s existence is not the only question we feel ought to be answered plainly. But where do we draw the line? For any question, we might ask Him to give one physical sign to mean “yes” and another to mean “no.” We could then avoid ever having to search for answers, develop experience and wisdom, or exercise common sense. There would be no debate, no development or sharing of ideas, no disagreement among people. We would develop the worst kind of intellectual laziness.

The third reason, I believe, is that God wants to be available to be found by those who search, but possible to ignore for those who don’t want to find Him. It’s not hard to believe that this world exhibits the perfect balance between these two. For those who truly want to find God, there is an abundance of evidence: for example, the beginning of the universe (and the consequent necessity of a Creator); the historical evidence for the existence of Jesus and the resurrection; the personal testimonies of so many who have been touched by God; and much more. But none of this is so overwhelmingly apparent that it wouldn’t be possible to disregard if one so desires. I believe our world is set up in such a way that we get a glimpse of what things are like with and without God, to give us an idea of both possibilities and giving us a chance to choose where we would like to spend eternity. If the balance were tipped in either direction, this purpose would not be accomplished as effectively.

            A fourth reason is this: how do we know for sure that people would be more likely to believe in God even if many additional signs were provided to them? For those who are not open to the idea, there is always the possibility that they would simply dismiss anything unusual as hallucinations, illusions created by the power of suggestion, or maybe even extraterrestrials.

Finally, we should keep in mind that mere belief in God isn’t the most important issue. God could easily perform tricks to compel people to believe He exists, but it’s quite possible to believe in a supernatural being who created the universe without ever pursuing a relationship with Him.

These are ultimately only possible reasons why God doesn’t reveal Himself more than He does. I may be on the right track, or I may not. But I believe it’s important to at least try to understand, particularly so we will be ready to give an answer to those who have the same question. Ultimately, it does seem to come down to whether we truly desire to seek God and find Him. After all, as A.W. Tozer once said, “The more difficult the journey, the more satisfying the destination.” If God could be found too easily, it might cheapen the experience of finding Him. Our search for and pursuit of God greatly benefits us by developing our character and perseverance, as well as providing an opportunity for us to long for Him. It would be a great loss if this entire pursuit were eliminated and replaced by an immediate conclusion to our search.