Question:

 Why did He really create us? He knew most would reject Him. He knew all would
fall short. He knew they would eat that apple! And if we say He created us because
He wanted to love us, etc.. then that means He has needs. I am really trying
to ‘believe’ that God is fair and just, but it’s hard when He knew all this before
we were put into this spiritual war. That seems to me as unfair. Why create
people in the first place? We didn’t ask for it. Wouldn’t it have been better
to have never existed than to be thrown into a battle we had no choice over?

Answer:

In the end, I suppose it is not my or anyone else’s place to explain why God
does what he does. As God says in Romans 9:20, who are you, oh man, to talk
back to God. Nevertheless, I will answer your question with the answer you already
anticipated. God created us because he wanted to love us and wanted us to love
him. You say that means that God needs us. Perhaps, but I would say it is more
accurate to say that God wants (not needs) a relationship with us.

At times it seems illogical to me, as it apparently seems illogical to you,
that God would create people to love him, knowing that so many would in the
end reject a relationship with him. It seems to come down to the fact that God
wanted to create people who would love him by their own will. We as humans,
since we were created in God’s image, can relate to this. We only feel a satisfaction
from relationships with those who choose to love and appreciate us. To a human
being, an involuntary love is not really a love at all. God is all-knowing, and
all-powerful, yet he wanted a creature to love.

You mention that you sometimes find your self almost regretting that God has
made you, given the struggles in life you experience. Again, I can understand
your feelings. Yet, as a parent, I think I know pretty much exactly how God
feels. There is something in our nature that wants to create a life, to nurture it,
to give it every opportunity to succeed, to experience joy, defeat, love, ecstasy,
passion, disappointment and so forth. As we find our greatest joy in conceiving
and raising up a child, so God loves us. Bringing a child into the world is risky.
It invites the greatest imaginable disappointment, yet we do so because we have
hope. God is the same way. Yes, life is dangerous. It involves fear, disappointment
and loss. It also involves the opportunity for love, for a sense of purpose, for a relationship
of the God of the universe. If you are a parent, you can certainly understand
these emotions. God loves you. God wants desperately a relationship with you
forever. Please do not see the struggles of life as an insurmountable burden.
Please look at them as an opportunity to grow, to change, to become more of
what God and those you love want you to be.

John Oakes