James Meehan - Why Does God Play Hide and Seek?
- Watch
- Audio
- Get involved
Well, hello, my name is James Meehan, and in this video, we're going to look at one of the most common objections to faith in Jesus that people have. This one is often called "the hiddenness of God," and it goes like this: If God is good, if he's loving and all-knowing, and belief in him is so important, then why doesn't he make himself more obvious? Like he knows what it would take for me to believe, right? Because he's all-knowing. So why doesn't he do that? Because doesn't God want everyone to know him? To be forgiven of their sins and find eternal life? The answer is, of course, he does. So, why does it seem like belief in God is so difficult? Doesn't that just prove that God either isn't real or that he isn't good?
And well, this is a very fair question, one that I wrestled with for a lot of years when I personally was totally unconvinced in the existence of God. It's a question that actually has a really good answer to it. But before we get to the answer, we're going to talk about some flat-earthers and American politics. Did you know that there are a growing number of people who believe the earth is flat and not actually a globe? They're convinced that all the science has been hijacked and the roundness of the earth is a myth. And no matter how much evidence is provided to show that the earth is not flat, they continue to hold onto that belief. Why? Because of something called confirmation bias.
What is confirmation bias? It is the natural tendency that people have to accept evidence and ideas they already agree with and reject evidence and ideas they do not agree with. And confirmation bias is not unique to flat-earthers, it is a quality all of us share. Another place where you can see the effects of confirmation bias on full display is in the world of American politics, where you've got half the population passionately arguing that something is the best idea ever, while the other half of the population is just as passionately arguing that the same idea is terrible. And both sides will point to stories, studies, evidence, and examples that support their view. And 99 times out of 100 both sides look at the evidence, call the other side a bunch of ignorant liars, and then walk away more set in their original beliefs.
The point? We are really good at believing what we want to believe and dismissing what we don't. Which brings us back to the question, why does it sometimes feel like God is playing hide and seek? The answer is that God isn't hiding from you. He is knocking at the door waiting for you to invite him in. In Revelation, chapter 3, verse 20, Jesus says this, he says, "Look, I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and we will share a meal together as friends". Now, obviously, Jesus isn't standing at your literal front door knocking on it. But God has gone to great lengths to reveal himself to humanity and to invite us into a relationship with him. And there are some of you who may still think that he should have made it more obvious. I get where you're coming from. But because I know that God is good and because I know that he loves us, I can trust that he never leaves faith in him up to chance. He always gives us a choice.
And we can trust that God will give every person the evidence they need to come to faith in him. But just because the evidence is in front of them doesn't mean they'll actually choose to accept it. Because just like flat-earthers and Americans in politics, we are really good at finding the evidence that supports what we believe and dismissing the evidence that goes against it. You see, God isn't hiding from you. He's knocking at the door, and he's waiting for you to invite him in. And the way that he most often knocks, the way that he most often reveals himself to us is through four ways. The first is creation. When we look at the origins of the universe, the design of the universe, the beauty of creation, all of it points to an intelligent creator. The second way is through the Bible. This is God's love letter to humanity, recounting the story of how he has worked and is working in the world to bring people to him.
The third way is through the person of Jesus. When God showed up in history as a human being to reveal to anyone and everyone who would listen that he wants a relationship with them. To make the point even clearer, he performed miracles and rose from the dead to prove he was who he said he was. And the fourth way that God reveals himself to us is through people. This was actually how God revealed himself to me. Christians who took their faith seriously, who loved me deeply, who told me about Jesus, and invited me to put my trust in him. So what if it's not an accident that you're watching this video? What if God is revealing himself to you right now? Because he's knocking on the door of your heart, waiting for you to let him in. Because that's how much he loves us. He gives us the choice to accept him or reject him. So will you let him in?