People who reject God often ask, “Why can’t we seed God?” For those who are unschooled in the issues related to Christian faith, the question may have an element of sincerity to it, and it is for those people that I’m writing this answer. Those who are hardened Agnostics, having heard all the answers and rejected them, need to stop wasting people’s time.
So for you who are sincerely asking, let’s start with some things God said about his “hiddenness.” In Exodus we read:
Exodus 33:18-23 English Standard Version
18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”
God does not explain why Moses can’t see his face, and by extension, why none of us can see him at all. God expects people who have read the Scriptures thus far to have figured that out for themselves. We are sinners and God is holy, that is obviously why God does not permit us to look upon him. We are in trouble, we are being disciplined on this earth, and part of our punishment is that we cannot see the face of God. It’s really quite obvious.
We humans have failed to live up to our moral obligations, we have sinned against Almighty God. I like what William Lane Craig has to say in relation to this:
I think popular Christian piety very often overlooks the fact that we are morally obligated to believe in God. We often tell unbelievers that God loves them and offers them a relationship which they may freely accept or reject. That’s true as far as it goes, but it does not go nearly far enough. What is missing here is the fact that because of Who God is, we have a moral duty to believe in, love, and worship God with all our mind, heart, and strength, and when we fail to do so, we are morally guilty before Him and so fall under the righteous sentence of His justice. If God simply winked at sin, then He would not be perfectly just and so not perfectly good.
By ignoring the fact of our moral obligations toward God, popular Christian piety invites the response, “What kind of love is this? ‘Believe in me, or I’ll send you to hell!’” That retort is entirely appropriate for a being whom we have no moral obligation to love and obey. But when we understand the fullness of the nature of God, then we see that while we have the ability to reject God’s love and so separate ourselves from Him forever, that does not imply that there are no consequences of such a choice. Because such a choice is profoundly evil, a perfectly just God must punish it. Just as we might say that while I have the freedom to speed down the highway at 100 miles per hour but do not have the liberty to do this because it is against the law, so I have the freedom but not the liberty to disbelieve in God.
Similarly, people ask why can’t they see God as if they are in no moral trouble with him. As if it is their right to see God, and the lack of this visibility morally entitles them to disbelieve in him. They are not being honest, and there are consequences for that rebellion.
Another problem with the question “Why can’t we see God,” is that fails to realize that God wants certain things from us that seeing him would prevent. Broadly speaking, God wants a loving relationship with each of us, originating from and persisting in our free will choice. There are three main ways Scripture depicts God’s relationship to those of us who choose him; as our Father (Matthew 6:9-15); as our Friend (John 15:13); and as our Husband (Revelation 19:6-9). It is clear God wants us to love him from a sincere heart:
John 4:23 English Standard Version
23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
And here’s the big issue, how can anyone freely choose to love God if they can see him, and thus inescapably know they will go to Hell forever if they refuse? We hear about heaven in the Bible, and we hear about Hell, but if we could see God, we would be forced to believe in both. And thus we would have no choice but to give our love to God. Fear would compel our love, and that’s not what he wants.
So God remains hidden from our view, and our free will to love or reject him is preserved. That’s why we can’t see God. But if you really want to see God, give your heart to him, because those in heaven with him will see him forever.