The Problem with Free Will

The greatest Christian ethic is found in Luke 10:27; “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”; and, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” As simple as these words are, the freedom that makes these words meaningful, open mankind up to many painful consequences. You see love can never be true love if the giver of that love is not free. Freedom to love or not to love must be a possibility, if there is to be any meaning in love. If God were to program all of humanity to love him, what would it really mean? We would be robots in a sick game our creator was playing. But if we are free? Then love becomes a vulnerable, beautiful thing. The problem comes when God opens freedom to the human race. Because with the freedom to love also comes the freedom to hate and that is where our problems as humans spiral downward. Humanity with its flesh looks for ways to tarnish the image of God they were created in. Lies and deceptions pour from our hearts freely and all the consequences that drag behind them. Murders and every form of malice rises from the depths of Hell and settle into the hearts of men. So the question we ask is, was it really worth it? I would say absolutely yes, for without freedom there is no meaning. A robotic world where our wills are forced in a game that never ends is madness. Consider the God who gives us freedom and truly frees our hearts to be able to embrace his salvation. That salvation is found in a sacrifice that he truly gives. This is no game; it is the greatest display of genuine love ever performed. I am not proposing this answers all the questions of evil in the world, but it is a start.