Free Will

I had this laid on my heart tonight. God made humans in His own image. Just like God, humans have free will. With free will come consequences of the choices made. God knew when He decided to do that what the consequences would be of His decision, which is why He came up with a plan to deal with those consequences. To many people make decisions without bothering to think about the consequences of those choices or making plans for them. 

God gave us free will so we could chose to have a relationship with Him. Before the fall of man God went to the garden to talk, fellowship, hangout and be part of Adam & Eve's lives. He wants to do the same thing with us today. He wants a relationship with the people He has created. Think about a parent/child relationship. A good parent wants to talk, hangout and be part of their child's life. A good parent has unconditional love for their child and nothing will change that. The parent may not agree with everything the child does but the child has free will to make the choice. The child should be taught, plus with every choice learns there are consequences to what they chose, be them good or bad. A good parent always wants the best for the child and hates to see when the bad happens. God is the ultimate parent! He advises you against things not because He is mean or wants mindless followers but because He sees the consequences. He wants His children to decide to have a relationship with Him. He wants His children to use the free will to do good and not bad. 

One could say what's good or what's bad is a matter of opinion. To a degree that is true. Here is a simple way of looking at good and bad. Does it edify, improve, or encourage? Or does it belittle, hinder, or destroy?