Free Will, Love, and the Fallout of Choice
A deeper look at why freedom is a gift—and a risk.
One of the hardest realities we wrestle with in this life is that we are free.
That sounds strange, doesn’t it?
Because we often think of freedom as a good thing—and it is. But if we’re being honest, freedom comes with weight. Responsibility. Consequences. And sometimes… devastation.
This tension sits at the core of the upcoming second episode of our Faith In Context series, God, Goodness, and the Problem of Pain.
The question we’re exploring is this:
If God gave us free will, why would He create a world where we could misuse it so badly?
The Real Cost of Real Love
To understand this, we have to start with a foundational truth:
Love cannot exist without freedom.
If God had created a world where humans could only obey, where we were programmed to say “I love you” on command—would that really be love? Or just spiritual automation?
Love, real love, requires choice.
And that’s exactly what God gave us in the Garden of Eden. The freedom to choose. The capacity to say yes or no.
Genesis 2 and 3 reveal this raw reality: the first humans chose self over God… and the fallout has never stopped rippling.
Freedom’s Fallout Is Everywhere
We see it in global injustice, systemic evil, broken families, addiction, and even everyday selfishness.
Most of the suffering we face doesn’t come from “natural evil” like earthquakes—it comes from human hands.
From decisions people make.
A drunk driver runs a red light.
A spouse chooses betrayal.
A leader abuses power.
A parent walks away.
And someone else suffers.
But here’s what’s wild:
God doesn’t revoke freedom to stop the pain.
Instead, He enters the pain to redeem it.
Why Doesn’t God Just Step In?
You might be wondering:
“Why doesn’t God stop people from doing evil things?”
And I get that.
But if God were to step in every time someone made a destructive choice, we wouldn’t be truly free—we’d be controlled.
He’d be puppeteering our lives, not parenting our hearts.
And that’s not the kind of relationship God is after.
God wants sons and daughters, not robots.
Freedom Points Us to the Cross
This is what makes the Gospel so powerful.
Jesus didn’t just come into a world with free will—He came knowing exactly how far our freedom could fall.
He experienced the full brutality of human choice: betrayal, injustice, violence, abandonment.
And what did He do?
He chose to forgive.
He chose to absorb our sin.
He chose to love us anyway.
The cross isn’t just a place of suffering—it’s a place of freedom.
And it’s where love wins.
So Where Does That Leave Us?
It leaves us with a sobering reality:
Freedom is beautiful… but it’s also dangerous.
It can heal or harm. Bless or break.
And yet, it’s in the freedom to choose God, even in our brokenness, that we experience the deepest kind of love.
You are not a puppet.
You are not a program.
You are a person made in the image of God, with the capacity to choose love, to choose healing, to choose Him—even when the world around you is choosing everything else.
Want to Go Deeper?
In Episode 2: “The Cost of Freedom” from our God, Goodness, and the Problem of Pain series, we dive deep into:
The theology of free will
The connection between love and risk
Why God allows freedom even when it hurts
How Jesus reclaims the story through the cross
Available soon on the Faith In Context podcast, available on all major platforms.
And if you haven’t subscribed yet—now’s the time.
Because the questions only get more real from here.
