God did not create a world of robots to mechanically serve His purposes. He created the universe to manifest His divine nature of love. But true love can only exist with freedom, just as true righteousness can only exist with freedom. We cannot truly love if we are forced to do so against our will; we cannot be morally perfect if we do not choose to do good out of our own volition.

To protect the well being of His creation, God established laws for us to obey. God shows us what is good: “to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly” with Him (Mic 6:8). His commandments also teach us the consequences of our choices (Rom 5:13). But He permits us the freedom to do as we will. He wants human beings to love Him and obey His commands out of our own volition, not out of compulsion.