Why is faith such a big deal?

Hebrews 11:6(NKJV)

6But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Why is faith such a big deal to God?  At first I thought that would be an easy question to answer.  Because we can't be saved without it.  Duh!

But then I thought a little deeper about the question and found that I don't really have an answer.

I mean think about it.  Scripture tells us that God wants to see all saved who choose to be saved.  But only those who have faith in something that can't really be "proven", God and Jesus, can be saved according to Scripture. 

If it is so important to God that all be saved, then why didn't He make it easier by providing proof that can't be denied?  I think that is a fair question.  Come on, He's God, He could surely provide some sort of sign that the whole world could see and not refute.  But He chose not to do that.  Why?

Why was it more important that those who are saved be saved by faith rather than having higher numbers of people who are saved by seeing "proof"?

That is something that I am going to ponder.  In the mean time let's take a look at the verses above.  First it tells us that it is impossible to please God without faith.  The other thing that I found interesting here is one of the things that we are told to have faith in.

We are told to have faith in the belief that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.  In other words, good things await those who seek God!