Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Many years back, I had the most epic of parental failures that a dad could have. It was in our living room and the whole family got a front row seat. My youngest son was being incredibly defiant; talking back and lashing out no matter what I did or said to him. He pushed me past my breaking point and a whole lot of “ugly” came out. In the middle of his final rant of defiance, I grabbed my beloved son, I picked him up by the shirt and slammed his body against the wall. Then I leaned in and told him in the most stern voice - he could listen to me because he loved me, or he could listen to me because he feared me, but the result must always be to LISTEN. . . and for the first and last time, I saw a deep and genuine fear in my boy that, although did bring compliance, it also broke both of our hearts and shocked the entire household. Of course two minutes later I was apologizing to my son and telling him how much I loved him, which did not seem too effective at the time. I definitely learned that Love is the only acceptable form of discipline as a parent.

I have been thinking this morning about why God does not physically reveal himself to us in our day. You know - specifically to all of the folks that don’t believe in him. And I am not talking about a human form as He did in the person of Jesus; I was wondering if he gave doubters just enough presence to see his holiness and clearly understand that He is God – creator of all things and master of the universe, so they might believe . . . I guess that is a desire very close to what the religious people wanted in Jesus day. They rejected Jesus because they wanted a powerful conquering king coming with authority and strength. . . And I began to realize THAT is what I sometimes want. Someone to stifle the mouths of the disobedient. . . kind of like I did to my son in the heat of the moment. . . . perhaps I did not learn as much as I was hoping.

It got me thinking; maybe there is no way for God to reveal himself outside of a human body that would not paralyze us into fear and compliance, rather than love. . . .

And then I remember; When I invite him in. . . Even just an unseen taste of his holy presence – in worship – in prayer – in meditation – It ALWAYS drives me to my knees in tears of love and joy and I am touched in a way that changes me. It is crazy to consider how gentle and patient and careful our creator God is in drawing near to us when we ask. Making sure his presence is masked enough to reveal only what we are capable of drinking in out of love. We know from Moses’ asking to see Him that even the shadow of his glory was too much to see directly. Crazy to think about how powerful he is and yet gentle to us. God really IS a good, good father.

You know, despite all of my wisdom, God may be doing this thing right, all along :)

Why Doesn't God Reveal Himself To The Doubters