“If God is all-knowing, then he knew we were going to sin. But he created us, anyway. Why would he do that?”

The young man who asked me this question was thoughtful. His tone was not one of challenge, but one of a man trying to understand God.

As if that were even possible.

I answered his question with a question: “Do you have children?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Are they perfect?”

He laughed. “Hardly.”

“Did you think they would be?”

“No.”

“But you had them, anyway.” A smile spread across his face. He saw where I was going with this. “If you knew they weren’t going to be perfect, why did you have them?”

“Because I love them.”

“I think you just answered your own question.”

Before Chloe and Cole were born, Amy and I had some idea of what we were in for. We knew there were going to be late-night feedings, as well as early-morning feedings. We knew there were going to be dirty diapers that would make our eyes water and trigger our gag reflexes. We knew that at some point we were going to encounter the “terrible twos.” And in years to come, we would have to deal with our kids becoming teenagers.

It would have been much easier for us to just go to the store and buy a nice houseplant. They don’t wake you in the middle of the night, they don’t require a baby sitter, and they won’t eat you out of house and home.

But Amy and I decided to have kids, anyway. Why? Because we love them.

We don’t love them because of anything they’ve done, or haven’t done. We don’t love them because they have anything to offer in exchange for our love. We love them, pure and simple, because they’re ours. Even though we knew they weren’t going to be perfect, even though we knew they were going to mess up from time to time, we still chose to have them because we love them.

That’s why God created us even though he knew we were going to sin: because he loves us. In spite of everything he knew we were going to end up doing, he loved us enough to create us, anyway.

The love he has for us is also the reason he sent Jesus to die for our sins. But when did he send Jesus? Once we proved ourselves worthy? Once we convinced God that we loved him enough? No. God loved us enough to send Jesus to die for our sins while we were still unworthy of his love (Romans 5:6-8).

So you see, God knew. From the very beginning, he knew we were going to sin. He knew we were going to fail him. He knew Jesus was going to have to die to save us from our sins. Yet he did it anyway. Why? Because he loves us that much.

And even though he does not force us to love him in return, that is his heart’s desire. He wants each and every person to love him, to accept Jesus as their savior and to come live with him in heaven for all eternity.

Not even I will let my kids live with me forever.

Parrish Myers is pastor of Pine Crest Baptist Church in Gainesville.