I think it’s to see His children succeed; to see us learn and grow and progress and eventually become like Him. He wants us to be happy. Not short term, momentary, fleeting fun happy – but eternal, all encompassing, essence of our being, happy.
There is only one way that can happen: free will.
We have to be able to choose. Everything. We have to be able to make right and wrong
choices, we have to be able to save a life, and also take a life. We have to be able to love and hate, help and
hurt, give and take. We have to be free
to make every single mistake, every wrong choice, because that is the only way
we’ll ever learn to make the right choice.
God is all powerful, all knowing. He can make anything happen at anytime. He understands, perfectly, every law of physics, every reaction of chemistry - he can do anything, for he understands everything, and has all power.
So why doesn't he stop the rapists, the murderers, the kidnappers, the thieves, the drunk drivers, the suicidal friends?
Why doesn't he STOP bad things from happening?
Because our eternal happiness is far too important. We MUST have free-will. We MUST have agency. Without that - there really is no point, no purpose, no progression, no happiness.
God answers prayers. He can make a flood or a famine. He can call a prophet and send down scripture. God does a million other things to help us, persuade us, guide us, and teach us. He chooses NOT to control us.
For God's will to happen in our lives, we have to CHOOSE to do His will.
Christ was the perfect example of this. He is the only person that chose, his entire life, to do God's will, in every single decision.
Christ's life was perfect because he used his agency not to do his will, but the Fathers. This did not keep everyone else from choosing their own will. Others still chose to hate him, and revile him, and arrest him, and beat him, and eventually kill him. Christ chose to do the Father's will, and let those men kill him. Christ had his agency, and willingly gave it to God.
Now there's us. In our lives you can look at it both ways, and both are correct.
1. Everything that happens is God's will. (True, because His will is that we choose)
2. Nothing that happens is God's will. (True, because it is all our will, which is exactly how He wants it.)
God is all powerful, all knowing. He can make anything happen at anytime. He understands, perfectly, every law of physics, every reaction of chemistry - he can do anything, for he understands everything, and has all power.
So why doesn't he stop the rapists, the murderers, the kidnappers, the thieves, the drunk drivers, the suicidal friends?
Why doesn't he STOP bad things from happening?
Because our eternal happiness is far too important. We MUST have free-will. We MUST have agency. Without that - there really is no point, no purpose, no progression, no happiness.
God answers prayers. He can make a flood or a famine. He can call a prophet and send down scripture. God does a million other things to help us, persuade us, guide us, and teach us. He chooses NOT to control us.
For God's will to happen in our lives, we have to CHOOSE to do His will.
Christ was the perfect example of this. He is the only person that chose, his entire life, to do God's will, in every single decision.
Christ's life was perfect because he used his agency not to do his will, but the Fathers. This did not keep everyone else from choosing their own will. Others still chose to hate him, and revile him, and arrest him, and beat him, and eventually kill him. Christ chose to do the Father's will, and let those men kill him. Christ had his agency, and willingly gave it to God.
Now there's us. In our lives you can look at it both ways, and both are correct.
1. Everything that happens is God's will. (True, because His will is that we choose)
2. Nothing that happens is God's will. (True, because it is all our will, which is exactly how He wants it.)
