I am speculating we can figure out what God wants based on the nature of our experience.
What is the nature of our experience? Is one person's experience the same as another's? Our perception is our reality so we have to have the correct perception of God to begin with. Don't expect to get it from the churches. They are as lost as the people who look to them for answers. When it comes to the "why's" about any of it, they are basically clueless.
What we know about God is revealed in two ways as far as I can see.....he gave us a written record of his dealings with a specific nation and with certain individuals to show us what he has given the human race by way of his laws and instructions (which were only necessary after humans were influenced to reject his sovereignty) and what happens when his commands are obeyed, as opposed to what happens when they are not. Object lessons are powerful teaching tools. We all know this.
Since the the proper exercise of free will was the catalyst for the whole scenario in Eden, we have to first understand what we lost, and how God gets it back for us without taking this precious gift away from us. That gift ultimately became a curse when disobedience manifested itself, prompted by self interest which was demonstrated by all parties.
How does a gift become a curse? By abusing it. This happens with so many things in human experience. The proper use of something is taken out of its boundaries and it becomes a blight. The first thing that comes to mind by way of illustration is something very familiar to most of us....alcohol. The Bible says that 'wine makes the heart rejoice' so God does not condemn the proper use of alcohol...it was a gift. The very first miracle of Jesus Christ was turning water into wine.....but when taken in excess it becomes a monster that is destroying lives and breaking up families and creating violence on the streets and in people's homes. This well illustrates what happens when a blessing becomes a curse.
The second way that God reveals himself is through his creation. When we read the prophesies about the future, I believe that it tells us also about the past. Concerning the animals and creatures that share this planet with us we read.....
"The wolf will reside for a while with the lamb,
And with the young goat the leopard will lie down,
And the calf and the lion and the fattened animal will all be together;
And a little boy will lead them.
7 The cow and the bear will feed together,
And their young will lie down together.
The lion will eat straw like the bull.
8 The nursing child will play over the lair of a cobra,
And a weaned child will put his hand over the den of a poisonous snake.
9 They will not cause any harm
Or any ruin in all my holy mountain,
Because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah
As the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah 11:6-9)
Doesn't this sound like the way it should be? I believe that this was the way animals were before humans were evicted from the garden. Satan was given dominion over the earth and I believe that his influence spread even to the animal kingdom. God will rectify everything when he takes back the rulership of the earth.
Isaiah also writes that ....
"the former distresses will be forgotten;
They will be concealed from my eyes.
17 For look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth;
And the former things will not be called to mind,
Nor will they come up into the heart.
18 So exult and be joyful forever in what I am creating......
25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
The lion will eat straw just like the bull,
And the serpent’s food will be dust.
They will do no harm nor cause any ruin in all my holy mountain,” says Jehovah." (Isaiah 65:16-18; 25)
That for me paints a wonderful picture for the future of life on planet Earth. Humans were never created to go to heaven and the majority of us will remain right here where God put us in the first place. A small number were chosen by God for roles in the Kingdom, assisting its King in administering the benefits that Christ's sacrifice bought for us. This is "the good news of the Kingdom" that Jesus told us to preach. (Matthew 24:14)
This present life is sorting out those who
want to obey God's direction from those who
don't want to.
We are all, by our own choices and conduct, exercising our free will and thereby showing God if we qualify for the life he had planned for us all along. What we lost in Eden by disobedience, we gain back when God brings the rule of his Kingdom to this earth.....we were originally supposed to be stewards of this planet and caretakers of its inhabitants (including each other).....how are we doing in those roles generally? Does God have a reason to keep us in existence if we fail in these important areas? Are we part of the problem or are we part of the solution? We decide.
What God wants from us is what I am speculating about.
Since we are part of a contest between God and his adversary, and it has a predetermined outcome, we have the choice of siding with God, or siding with the devil who wants to promote the abuse of free will.
Do we see his world enslaved to that kind of freedom? (1 John 5:19) Has it made the world a better place?...a more peaceful place....a place that is even safe to live in? Are people happier? How many of us love this world.....and how many of us are dreading the future because of the way humans are behaving? Never before has man possessed the ability for self annihilation.....all it will take is one arrogant idiot's finger on a button. There are more than one.....(button or arrogant idiot.)
What God wants from us is the acknowledgment that his rule is best, despite any restrictions that he may place on us for our own good. Go back to Eden and ask what restriction got the human race into this mess....was it something earth shattering? Too difficult? Was it going to harm them in any way? If humans couldn't even get that right, then free will was something we urgently needed to learn to drive responsibly....just like we learn to drive a motor vehicle. It can be a useful means of transport or it can be a lethal weapon in the hands of a careless fool.
I am assuming God exists as a premise to my speculations.
I am too. So that is my personal assessment of the situation.
