Question:
Answer:
God gives us free will to see whether we will trust him to provide what’s best for us, or whether we’ll go “our own way” in opposition to him (see Matt. 25:31-46).
Here we see, then, that true love is not coercive. It respects the free will of the beloved. God also doesn’t let sin and death have the last word either, sending his only begotten Son to become man and redeem us all through his one Sacrifice of Calvary (John 3:16-17). So he gives us plenty of opportunities to repent and walk with him throughout our lives and accept his gift of salvation and persevere in it (1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9).
Analogously, mere human Catholic parents will have children—knowing that these children will be born with original sin and then commit their own sins. Does this mean they don’t love the children they procreate with God? Definitely not. They know that children are a great gift from God, and that God has a great plan for all children—including ultimately eternal life if they will receive that gift; and they themselves will work with God to see that happen for their children.
And so we see it is also with God and our first parents. He knows they will sin, but he knows that it’ll be their choice, not his. And he knows that he will send them a great Redeemer, someone who will offer them an opportunity for eternal life—a far greater life and communion with him had they never, ever sinned and only lived on earth forever. So we see then, in the end, how loving our God really is (see CCC 412).