Imagine You Were God Imagine you were God. You were all alone -- nothing but you and space. Wouldn't you want to have others around to keep you company?
So you decide to create some other beings. You want to have some intelligent conversation and relationships, so you create them with freedom of choice. Things are perfect. You have a wonderful universe with no problems. Until some of your created beings decide they don't want to do things your way. They rebel and want to run the universe -- instead of you. Suddenly there is no peace, no order -- what do you do?
Realizing that you must do something to preserve order and to protect the beings who didn't rebel against you, you decree a judgment on the rebels. But they accuse you of unfairness -- saying you are not qualified to judge them -- that you don't know what it is like to have to live under your rules and do things your way.
You realize this accusation cannot be allowed to stand unanswered if you want to preserve peace, harmony, and order in the future. So you decide to allow an impartial "jury trial" to decide the rebel's fate. But who would be on the jury? It can't be those involved. There can be only one solution: create some new beings -- human beings -- to be the jury.
Of course, the rebels insist on having equal access to your jury. And you agree, giving your word to allow the jury complete freedom to choose. If these humans choose to follow the rebels, you will not interfere. Only if the humans freely choose to follow you and your way -- rejecting the rebels and their way -- will the loyal humans then pass judgment on the rebels -- in agreement with you. You realize this is a risky proposition, and possibly very costly, but that it is the only way to settle the issue so your motives and your judgment will not continue to be questioned forever.
So, you create a man and a woman, putting them in a perfect environment. Of course, to be fair, you allow the rebels access to them. Then it turns sour. The rebels score a knockout blow right away. Man rebels by disobeying the simple command you gave them -- to allow them the opportunity to rebel. It seems the rebels were proven right -- going your way was not what an impartial jury would decide to do.
Is it over? Do you give up and let the rebels take over the universe and destroy it with their selfishness, as you know they will?
Or, do you do something bold and unexpected? What can you do? After all, the jury has been completely taken over by the rebels. The jury is already suffering the consequences of following the rebels -- already experiencing terrible misery. Is there any hope?
(It could be pretty tough being God, couldn't it.)
Maybe it's time to quit imagining and get a Bible and read it -- with a little more understanding of what God was up against. (Hint: to see part of God's bold move, read John 3:16-17. To see how it will all turn out in the end, read the book of Revelation in the New Testament.)
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