Search for the hidden God

I was asked a question by an atheist friend that I've very rarely been asked about how God acts.  Anyway, I thought I'd share the question that my friend asked as well as my response.  If you've ever asked this question or been asked this question, I hope you might find my few humble thoughts helpful.

The Question:

So help me with this... the question of the day. If we presuppose that God exists, then he has two options; full revelation or reliance on the faith of believers. So my question is, why would he choose faith over full revelation? After all, if I was trying to convince you of something you didn't believe, I would show you exactly what I wanted you to see. Why does God choose to rely on faith rather than fully revealing himself?

My Answer:
It comes back to choice. At first God was fully revealed to Adam and Eve. But he also planted a tree and said "Don't touch!" So like any other child, the first thing they did was to go get it. As a parent, I'm sure you can relate to that. Anything we do that displeases God is called sin. God is Holy and pure, meaning He cannot even tolerate sin in his presence. So humanity was separated from God because of our sin. But that didn't stop God. He knew before He created the world ever sin you and I would ever commit. And as God laid out punishment for Adam and Eve, He also told them that He would send someone who would crush Satan's head. This was the first promise of Jesus.
Then God told a son of Adam and Eve named Seth that this person would come through his bloodline. He also chose a son of Noah. Then He began to reveal Himself to a man named Abram, who He renamed Abraham. He chose Abraham's son Isaac and Isaac's son Jacob, who He renamed Israel. Then He chose Israel's son Judah. All the while He revealed more of Himself. Then from the nation of Israel, He called Moses to be a prophet. God warned Moses that he could not see God's face, because no one can see Him and live (Exodus 33:20). Before that God spoke to the nation of Israel, revealing Himself to all of them, and they were terrified. They said in Exodus 20:19 (NIV), "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die." When He tried to reveal Himself to everyone, they said no because they were afraid.
From that point forward, God revealed Himself through prophets, who spoke for Him. He even provided miracles to back up their words. But still the people rejected Him and disobeyed Him.

When Jesus came, He performed mighty miracles in front of people. Matthew and John saw for themselves and wrote their books of the Bible. Mark wrote down the stories told by Peter. Luke identified and interviewed many eyewitnesses in order to create an "orderly account." These writers recorded many miracles of Jesus. The lame walk. The blind see. The deaf hear. The dead were raised. Yet this was not enough to convince everyone. Then Jesus was killed and rose from the grave. When He did so, he didn't just appear to those that believed in Him. He showed Himself to Thomas, who doubted. He revealed Himself to His half-brother James, who had told people that Jesus was crazy. He also appeared to Saul, later called Paul, who not only didn't believe, but persecuted the church until he met Jesus.
In the end, it comes back to choice. Think of it like this. Debbie didn't have to marry you, but she chose to be with you because she loves you. When Jesus comes back, the Bible says that everyone will bow and say "Jesus is Lord." For some, that will be joyful. For others, it will be more "Oh sh*t. Jesus really is Lord." But by that point it is too late. Choice has been made. God wants us to chose to love Him just like Debbie chose to love you. She didn't have to. She chose. That's why God doesn't just mass reveal Himself. He wants to give us time to make our own choices.
Even back then, people asked what was taking God so long. They wrote to Peter to ask him. Peter replied, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9 NIV) So that's why He's waiting to reveal himself. He's waiting on us to chose Him.

So I don't know if that answer will fully satisfy you. I doubt it, but that's ok. Like there's no courage without fear, there is no faith without doubt. I can tell you this: the deeper my walk with Him, the more He has revealed Himself to me. When I have faith, He proves faithful. I wish that I could transplant my memories and experiences to show you why I trust in God. Just know that I'll keep researching, keep digging, to answer your questions to the best of my ability.