I’m frustrated with the suggestion that God “wanted” human beings to fall into sin. That he wanted to demonstrate his own love by showing us how wicked and evil the alternative is. That his plan from the beginning was that we should suffer and die, just so that he could rescue us.

I don’t accept this idea. I don’t accept that it was God’s will, plan or purpose for human beings to sin and die. I do believe it was against his will, his desire and dream for us.

I do, however, accept that he allowed it. He did not stop it or control it. He forgave it. He redeemed it. He healed it. And more importantly … he did not let it spoil his own ideals for the world!So why did God create us and what was his plan and his purpose? In the book of Genesis, the writer says we were created to procreate, rule over the animal kingdom, toil the soil, enjoy the fruit of our labour and commune with God. It seems to me that God was building a family. He created us in “his image” which is like saying that he gave us his genes. He fathered and mothered us. He created us for the giving and receiving of love.

What’s amazing to me is that we – as sinful human beings – think we can alter God’s plan. We think that our rebellion and our free will can actually change God’s sovereign will and his dream for his family. Over time I have rejected this notion. Not only do I believe that sin is against God’s will, and that he had to accommodate for it because our free will insisted on it, but that sin will be completely destroyed in the end and all things will be restored to his original will, plan and purpose.

Let me describe what I really see:
Once upon a time God decided to have a family. In God’s womb humanity was conceived. While it was still young and immature, humanity became deceived by sin and began to die and God experienced terrible labour pains. It was never God’s will for his babies to die! So he joined humanity in the womb, and was the “firstborn” to emerge from the birthing canal, a beautiful creation. And since he was both the carrier and the conceived, he was able to give birth to a pure and spotless humanity, one by one. Not one of his children was lost. Sin and death did not spoil his plans. They were but a blip on God’s radar: labour pains … And they all lived happily ever after …