Man is LOST. He couldn't find his way to his Creator or heaven no matter how hard he tried, even with the Law and even if he excelled at fulfilling it as Paul had as a Pharisee. Man is, first of all, in desperate need of communion with His Creator, 'Apart from Whom man can do nothing', (John 15:5), a relationship that was shattered at the Fall. We're here to, hopefully, learn of our desperation, of our need, so that, like Prodigals having experienced the pigsty, we may, as willfully as possible, with help, turn away from this world and its "offerings" as God calls us, as the Savior seeks to save and run back to our Father who's always been waiting with open arms. "Cooperative salvation" as per Phil 2 is the heart and soul of the Christian faith from Eden to Christ. Choose obedience, choose life, choose goodness, choose love, choose God.
God hasn't been patiently working with humanity since the beginning, with and through all the pain, suffering, sin, and death, for nothing, to then simply, suddenly decide to save a few otherwise worthless wretches and damn the rest. Rather He's been working on molding, on attracting the will of man so that, when the time was ripe in human history, and ripe in our own individual histories, we may just respond to the light. God has allowed darkness/evil for one reason: to help us learn to hate and reject it-by experience- and run to and embrace the Good, alone, as we will. Otherwise evil would have no purpose whatsoever-and that would certainly not cast a good light on the One who allowed it.