Does God Communicate Subtly or Spectacularly?

This week, let’s explore another “Which is more likely?” question. Which is more likely, that God communicates with us in subtle ways or in spectacular and obvious ways?

Let me say this right up front: I wish, oh how I WISH, that God communicated with human beings in spectacular and obvious ways. Wouldn’t it be great if supernatural visions appeared in the sky on a regular basis, booming out clear instructions for us?

If that happened, then there would be no doubt. We would know for certain that God exists. We would know exactly what He wants from us. And we could go out and obediently do it. That would be great.

However, God apparently is much more subtle. He allegedly communicates to Mankind through ancient texts, quiet prayer, prophets and saints, traditional liturgies, and the faint interior voice known as our conscience.

As a result, it’s quite easy for people to suspect that God may not even be there. Maybe it’s all a fantasy, a man-made story that makes some people feel good, but in the end, is just a quirky fable. Who can know for sure?

If God is real, why is He so mysterious and subtle and inconspicuous? If He really wants people to know Him and love Him, why doesn’t He simply broadcast His will from the highest mountains, with flashing lights and a booming voice, so no one could ever doubt?

Well, as we discussed last week, the essence of God, and the most fulfilling experience human beings can have, is love. God is love, and the only reason He created us is so we can enter into loving relationships with Him.

What is the one thing that is required for love to be genuine? It is freedom. If people have no choice in the matter, then are they really in love? We really don’t know.

Many cultures have arranged marriages. The husband and wife have no choice. They must get married to each other. It is not love; it’s coercion.

Is it possible that they eventually fall in love? Sure, it could happen. But the only way we know for sure that they are in love is if each party has the freedom to leave the relationship and instead chooses to stay.

Maybe God operates the same way. He wants each one of His precious human creations to enter into a loving relationship with Him. But if He made it so obvious — with supernatural visions and a booming voice — then people would have no choice. Only a fool would refuse. We would be, in effect, little robots programmed to embrace Him. We would have no choice. It would be a type of coercion. Which means there would be no way to know whether it was true love.

Everyone who enters into a loving relationship with God must have the freedom to say no. That’s the only way to be sure that it’s true love. Therefore, supernatural visions and booming voices are not appropriate. That would be so obvious it would take away our choice. It would be similar to an arranged marriage.

As a result, God’s communication with us must be subtle. There must be some element of doubt. There must be faith and trust.

God most definitely communicates with us, through the beauty and complexity of nature; also through a still small voice speaking to our hearts, along with Scripture, prophets and saints, and traditional liturgies. But His communication is quiet. It is subtle. It leaves room for doubt.

Returning to the original question: which is more likely, that God communicates with us in subtle ways, or in spectacular and obvious ways? Because of the nature of love, it must be subtle. There must be freedom. There must not be any coercion, and no programmed little robots who cannot refuse.

There are many times when I wish God would overwhelm us with supernatural visions and a booming voice. That would remove all doubt. But that is not the way love works. The only thing that makes sense is that God communicates with us very, very subtly.

# # #

(These “Merry Catholic” essays are featured on WJMJ, 88.9 FM, the radio station for the Archdiocese of Hartford, CT.)

THE MERRY CATHOLIC! Deep Thoughts from a Shallow Guy

Click here to download your copy!
Only $5.99!! Less than the price of a coffee and a donut!

This book is a collection of 100 favorite “Merry Catholic” essays.
Always reverent toward Church doctrines and irreverent toward human foibles.

# # #

AND DON’T FORGET, THERE ARE LOTS OF OTHER EXCITING READING OPTIONS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD ON KINDLE. Click the links:

A Matter of Laugh of Death (Parenthetical Comments from the Back Row)
A collection of published humor columns.

The Gospel According to Morty - And Other Merry Musings on Faith
A collection of faith essays, including the popular short story: “A Connecticut Yankee in King Jesus’ Court.”

The Memoir of Saint Joseph - A Work of Spiritual Imagination
A dramatic and plausible tale about the life of the ‘Silent Knight’ of Bethlehem.