Why Isn’t God More Obvious?*
Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Rom. 2:4
*Reposted for new subscribers.
We saw March 26 that God’s love for us in what he says and what he has done is the basis for knowing this world is a perfectly safe place to be. This weekend I want to spend some more time considering this because, until we truly believe God is good and he really loves us, individually, personally, we will have a hard time trusting that he has our best interest at heart. And we will have a hard time trusting in him, leaving behind our old life, and stepping with Jesus into our new life in his kingdom now. Remember, eternal life isn’t something that starts when you die; it starts right now for those who will receive it.
If God Loves Us Why Isn’t He More Obvious
If we are going to tackle tough questions, we may as well jump into one of the toughest.
It is actually a demonstration of God’s love that he is not more obvious. John Ortberg explained it this way/
God allows us to sometimes feel as if we are away from him, which I think he does for a reason. Do you ever drive differently when you see a squad car behind you? Why? It is not because you see that squad car and think, Oh, I want to be a good driver. You don’t want to get a ticket! You don’t want that little light flashing in the rearview mirror.
You see, God doesn’t want forced compliance. God is so immense that if he were “too visible,” people would give forced compliance without expressing their heart. So God makes it possible, in enormous love, for us to live as if he were not there.
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Anytime I sin, I must remove any thought of the presence of God from my conscious awareness. Then when I pray, I have to put him back in my mind’s focus. The goal of prayer is not to get good at praying, as many people think. The goal of prayer is not to try to set new records for how much time we spend praying. The goal of prayer is to live all of my life and speak all of my words in the joyful awareness of the presence of God.
John Ortberg*
Those words “God doesn’t want forced compliance” are so very important! It is the key to understanding so many things about how God deals with us. He doesn’t force us to seek him if we don’t want him.
GOD HAS GIVEN US ENOUGH EVIDENCE IN NATURE TO PROVE HE EXISTS
Paul, in his letter to the Romans, explains that God has demonstrated his existence through his creation so that people can’t claim that God didn’t let them know he was real.
Romans 1:18–22 (NLT): 18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. 21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.
Paul goes on to say that when people refuse to acknowledge God, he doesn’t force compliance. No, he lets them have what they desire:
Romans 1:25–26 (NLT): They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires.
You might be wondering, “If God loves people why would he abandon them to their shameful desires?” That is a good question. I believe the answer is: The alternative would be forced compliance.
God gives us the space to ignore him, reject him and even deny his existence if that is what we truly want. The problem for us when we do, though, is being alienated from God, which has some very serious consequences.
GOD INVITES US INTO AN INTERACTIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM
As I noted in a previous post, agape love is willing the best for someone and acting accordingly. That is the kind of love God has for us. In that post I talked about the ways God expresses his love in words and in action.
Instead of forced compliance, God desires us to love him because we want to love him. We get to that point by comprehending how awesome he is. As we begin to realize that he does have our best interest at heart, we see how amazing it is that the creator of the universe is interested in restoring us to fellowship with himself.
Instead of forced compliance, the Bible tells us how God draws us to himself. As he reveals more of himself to us through his word, we are drawn by his kindness and generosity towards us until one day we realize we are crazy to keep ignoring the one who loves us so much and is so generous in his blessings. When we love God wholeheartedly because he has become precious to us, he receives glory, and we rest in his loving care.
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God is not so obvious that we are forced into compliance, but he is available to anyone who truly seeks him:
Jeremiah 29:11–14 (NLT): 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the Lord.
“If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord.
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For further reflection:
1 John 4:9–10 (NLT): 9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
Ephesians 2:4–5 (ESV): But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
2 Thessalonians 2:16–17 (ESV): Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.
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*John Ortberg, The Me I Want to Be(link): Becoming God’s Best Version of You, Zondervan, 2010, p134.