The following is in part responding to Chapter 4 of Cornelius Plantinga Jr.'s Engaging God's World. If you are a random passerby, stop for a minute. Feel free to comment, question, discuss, and/or debate.

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

The story of redemption is a picture perfect one.  There are the broken people that choose the wrong actions, and there are the broken people who choose to follow a savior.  When the savior leads those who follow him to redemption, they are saved.  This story is simple.  There are no plot twists, nor open ended endings; there are no hidden characters, nor secret agendas; it is just straight forward.  Because this is such a simple story, however, it can be problematic to understand.  Why would an all powerful God commit to such a thing?

God could have defeated sin in any way he saw fit.  As an all powerful God, I expect evil is something that could hardly even affect him.  He did not need to come down from heaven and take up human flesh.  He did not need to give the world a savior on the ground.  This is where some parts of the story of redemption just does not make logical sense to me.  My brain is but infinitesimal to God's omnipotent knowledge, but it does not stop me from questioning his methods.  

Why did God promise a son to early generations when he likely could have just abolished parts of sin himself.  Why didn't God send a prophet that said "hey everyone, we don't need to sacrifice animals anymore, God has decided to let us now more easily ask forgiveness."  I was talking with my friend, and it is these sort of questions that become increasingly difficult to answer, because while on earth, we won't know.  While that all may be frustrating, it does not change my gladness that God did send someone to redeem us.  Whether a person sends me a chocolate in the mail, or hands it to me in person, I will still be glad for the gift.  God's amazing grace was not handing us chocolates though, it was handing us feasible access to eternal life.  What an insane concept!  

One of the things I will be most happy for in heaven, is when all these earth-dwelling questions get answered.  That will be one of the most interesting walks with God I am sure, and yet still it will only be the beginning.  (That is, if there even is a beginning to infinity).