Free will is like free love. It’s a misconception that would deny consequences, hence free! Imagine a math teacher concluding his instruction with “You are now free to ignore what I taught you and do whatever you want.”
The grotesque story of Adam and Eve in the Bible presents God as the inventor of free will so that He may then curse man for using it! And this is the explanation for mortal man’s wretched existence. Would a God that is love conjure up such a damnable scheme?
When Jesus struggled in the Garden of Gethsemane prior to his arrest and crucifixion, he prayed “Not my will but Thine be done.” He was hardly exercising free will. Rather he was submitting to the divine recognizing there was no other way but to fulfill his God-given mission. And with it came the greatest achievement and reward conceivable, the resurrection.
We are constantly presented with choices for which direction to take. By striving to know and do the will of God, we are doing much, for even if we do not seem to get it right the first time, we are at least heading in the right direction. This is grounded on the fact that God is good, and as Jesus declared: “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
St. Paul said it this way: “As in Adam [free will] all die, so in Christ [God’s will be done] shall all be made alive.”
From Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy:
“God is not the author of barbarous codes.”
“The design of Love is to reform the sinner.”
“The scientific unity which exists between God and man must be wrought out in life-practice, and God's will must be universally done.”