God the Father and Jesus Christ are other-centered. We are told this in Matthew 11:29 where Jesus says, “... for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest for your souls.” This tells us that God is humble. He does not force himself upon people. He gives them the freedom to love Him or to walk away from Him. That is why Hell exists. God gives people choices. If they fail in their choices, He also gives them the freedom to live with their choices.
Because God is gentle, He waits for us to respond to His love. He does not impose His love upon us. On the one hand, He gives us His Son on the cross as a gift; on the other hand, He gives us the choice of believing in Him or not. Such humility on His part is incredibly hard for humanity to grasp. They view God as a dictator when He is actually a humble Father.
God does not want slaves or robots. What He wants are sons and daughters who respond to His affection and love. He wants us to participate in the quality of relationship He has with Christ. That is why Romans 8:29 says, "For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to become conformed to the image of his son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brethren.” God wants to increase the joy He has with Jesus by sharing His love with us.
