Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. Matthew 18:14
It is not the Father’s will that anyone, young or old, should perish, i.e., should be lost to the purpose God had for them. It is useful to think of God as having two wills. His ontological will, His original design, so to speak, was that Adam and Eve would multiply and replenish the earth, and fill it with righteousness. But, sadly, that did not happen.
Yet, incomprehensible as it is to our finite minds, God knew that it wouldn’t happen when He decided to create man—create a universe. And so, in His providential will the Lamb is slain, even from the foundation of the world.
It is God’s ontological will that no one should perish. But His providential will works with our will, our choice…
