17th May 2006

What Dads Can't Do
By John Fischer

For Father's Day a few years ago, my kids got me a book, What Dads Can't Do by Douglas Wood. It's a children's book about dads and kids, illustrated in charming renditions of cute, huggable dragons. Here's a little sampling:

“There are lots of things that regular people can do but dads can't.
Dads can't cross the street without holding hands.
They can push, but they can't swing.
When dads play hide and seek they always get found, but they have a hard time finding you.
Dads really need to be kissed goodnight at bedtime.
It's a wonder they make it through life at all!”

I especially like the hide and seek part because of how God reveals himself to us. On one hand, he hides from us; on the other, he makes himself very obvious to those who are truly seeking him. If you seek the Lord with all your heart, finding him will be a little like finding a big dinosaur-sized dragon hiding behind a palm tree. This is one of the reasons why people who see the reality of God in their lives and in their world can't understand why everyone can't see what they see. To them it is so entirely obvious, but to those who are not “in the game,” God and truth remain shrouded.

Now I know it's heresy to imply that there is something God (as Dad) can't do, but in one case I suggest this is true. He can't let everyone know who he is in order to uphold the integrity of the human beings he has created in his image who choose not to have him in their life. In a sense, you could say God has upheld the dignity of those who won't believe. If God were like a dinosaur-sized dragon hiding behind a palm tree for everyone, you would be a fool for not believing. As it is, you are a fool for believing because something not obvious to most people is obvious to you. The faith that God gives believers, through their ability to see and hear him, is strong enough to counter looking like a fool.

I think the lesson here is to make sure we give people the dignity God gives them. That is, the freedom to choose not to believe.

Jesus spoke in parables to hide the truth, and then said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” The implication being: Some people have other things to do with their ears than listen for God. Jesus never berated people for not believing, he just kept encouraging those who did.