In order for humans to achieve self (for us to individuate), there must be a distance between us and God. This necessary situation produces the conditions within which sin is possible. Sin is any act which increases separation. Our natural disposition is to turn away from God. Suffering is the felt experience of our separation. It is separation manifest.
God could have created us to be indistinguishable from Him. We could have been made as extensions of the Divine, but there would then be no self. It is only by virtue of our separation that we can become self-creators: beings capable of creating selves.
Salvation and restoration then are made possible by the self being reimaged (reimagined). As sub-creators we are ego/self builders. We are not passive recipients of a self, we are partially repsonsible for shaping it through our primary imagination. A corrupted primary imagination will produce a corrupted self.
God can remake us in His image. Perhaps this is a gift which works from within and encompasses one's whole being. The imaginative faculty is transformed and everything else follows in its wake.
This is hugely speculative. I would appreciate any criticism or contributions. I feel a bit uncertain about even sharing this as it is a very free extrapolation.
PS I'm consciously drawing on Coleridge when I talk about the 'primary imagination'
You can take any command in scripture and have Biblical support for calling that command “Man’s Objective” and have Biblical support for saying that, but there are two overriding commands all other commands are bases on.
Would “Loving God and secondly others with all our heart, soul, mind, and energy” be our Mission statement?
God is Love, but how do we define this Love and measure this Love?
This Godly type Love is defined by Jesus’ words and deeds (you can also use 1 Cor 13 and 1 John 4), so what is that?
Can we measure the “love” one being has for another being by the amount the first being is willing to unselfishly sacrifice for the other being?
Is God this ultimate Lover? Would that “Love” compel even
God to make beings that could Love like He Loves (this “Love of God” is totally unselfish [a measure of pure Love] and thus is not for God’s sake at all, but is totally for the sake of others [which would also be God’s sake])?
So if God is not doing anything for His own sake and everything for the sake of others, would He be expecting or needing anything from man or would God just be trying to give the greatest gift He could give to man?
The reason this “Love” is the most powerful force in all universes is because it compels even God.
So to have this Love would make us like God Himself, so why does God not just make us with this Love and place us in heaven?
Are there something God just cannot do: like make another Christ, since Christ was never made but always existed?
Could God place this Godly type Love in a person at his/her creation (an instinctive love) or would an instinctive love be like a robotic love and not like God’s Love?
Could God just force His Love on man against the “will” of man or would that be like a shotgun wedding with God holding the shotgun?
What does man need that he does not have instinctively in order for man to fulfill this Mission?
Man’s objective seems to be to obtain and grow this Godly type Love to fulfill the mission (statement) of Love God and secondly others with all our heart, soul, mind, and energy.
Our “objective” while here on earth is to just accept God’s gift as it was given as pure charity.
God is not trying to get you to do something, but is trying to give you something.
The problem is not sin (unforgiven sin is a huge problem), because God will forgive our sins which helps us to Love (…he that is forgiven much will Love much….) God hates sin, but does allow it, so we can more easily accept His Love (in the form of forgiveness the easiest way for us to accept His charity). The problem is always our fulfilling our objective.
The Garden is a lousy (impossible) place for humans to fulfill their earthly objective and we can thank Adam and Eve for going through that example and providing us and them with that knowledge.
Sin is not only inevitable, but it unfortunately is necessary for humans.
The easiest way for humans to accept God’s charity (Love) is out of a huge need and that need is the relief from the burden of hurting others in the past (sin). By accepting God’s forgiveness we accept God’s Love (mercy/grace/charity) and thus we will Love much since Jesus has taught us (we also see this in our own lives) “…he that is forgiven much will Love much…” Luke 7: 36-50.
This world is “very good”, but not “perfect” like heaven is perfect and does not have the same purpose as heaven. This messed up world is actually the very best place for
willing individuals to fulfill their earthly objective.
Death is not “bad” in and of itself, but the way good people go home and the way bad people quit doing bad stuff.
It is truly tragic and unfortunate that Christ had to be tortured, humiliated and murdered in order to help willing humans in their fulfilling of their objective, but God is willing to make huge sacrifices to help willing individuals.
It is also very sad other humans who had the opportunity to fulfill their primary earthly objective continued to refuse God’s charity to the point they would never of their own free will accepted God’s charity. These God Loved individuals will thus go to their death and destruction as a help to some other humans who have not refused God’s help to the point of never accepting His help.