In the first article of this series, we looked at the fact that God has not set us up for failure. He created us with free will – which we frequently use to make poor choices – but has provided both the tools and the incentive to choose right instead of wrong. Of course, God could have just created us like robots without free will, but that makes the entire creation pretty empty for both God and mankind.

But for the sake of argument, what if God chose to play it safe? Should God have taken the position that He would not create mankind if there was any chance of even a single soul being lost for eternity? It is unlikely that any person, even the one asking the question, would answer ‘yes’. Even people who balk at God’s authority, and use this as evidence of His nonexistence, would never want their free will taken away. Would any Christian? Would any atheist? And even from a practical perspective, the vast majority of people marry and have children, even though both of those things carry with them great and tremendous risks. In marriage, there is the potential for your mate to hurt you (Malachi 2:14-16). Children could grow up and despise you (Proverbs 10:1). A child could die during birth, taking with him the mother. He could bring you much grief and pain from disobedience and rebellion (Genesis 26:34-35). Yet we still bring children into the world. The fact that God knew we might choose sin only proves His love for us (in that He was willing to take the risk of tremendous suffering on His part so that we might have the opportunity to exist). In light of this fact, should you not feel a deep sense of remorse and guilt every time you hurt God by acting disobediently? We should thank God every day that He believed the potential of some people spending eternity with Him was worth the risks of condemning others to Hell.

If God had chosen to make us soulless automatons, what benefit would that be to anybody? He would not be allowed to derive pleasure from our willing obedience, and we would not gain the satisfaction of choosing righteousness and conquering evil.

A God Who Is Too Scared…

The God who we find in the Bible is not one who is afraid of taking risks, who is too afraid to stick His neck out for us. Rather, the God of Christianity is a Master who is busy loving us in ways that we will never understand. He wants the best for us always, even when we are too shortsighted to see that it is best. Perhaps this is where we need to focus: if God truly knows what is best for us, then it is best for us to experience temptation, trials, and suffering in this world, and to make a free will decision to follow Him. God cares about us deeply:

  • “Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me, and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!” (Deuteronomy 5:29);
  • “He saw the city and wept over it” (Luke 19:41);
  • “How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling” (Matthew 23:37);
  • “Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him” (Psalm 103:13).

What if God had decided that the risks were too great for His preference? What if He did not create the world, but in a moment created our souls in the heavenly abode? Just imagine how we would feel if God told us, “Well, everybody, I did have this great plan for you about giving you free will and letting you live in a world in which you could choose to follow Me because of My love for you and the sacrifice of My son. But it was too risky, and I didn’t think that most of you could handle it.” Would any of us be attracted to a god who was fearful and unwilling to give us the benefit of the doubt? Would we be so appreciative of His love and our time in Heaven if we did not have to labor in this life first? How does eternity with that god sound to you?

On the contrary, our God commands us to be courageous and reject fear (Revelation 21:8). God is not governed by fear, nor is He distracted from His plans because of the foolishness of man. In His mighty, awesome wisdom, He has set up a plan for salvation that is available to all people, without the fear that we might all reject it.