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[Newbie]

Why is Jesus called the saviour when all he is doing is saving you from a punishment he would have given you?

[jimwalton]

Suppose you are the treasured pet in a home where the owner loves you more than anything else, and takes care of you with every resource he has. But you choose to run away, because you think life might be more exciting "out there," and you run so far you get lost and don't know where you are. Your owner looks for you every day, but you are too far away from him because you keep running. Let's say, for the sake of the story, you were pregnant and had baby-whatevers. Those babies are born "lost" also, never knowing the owner who loved them. Time passes. In the story, then, the owner sends his son to find any descendants of his pet, and when he finds them, he invites them back to the house. But the "lost ones" don't know the owner, don't understand, are afraid, and don't come. Generations of "pets" die "in the woods" by their own choice and fear, apart from the owner's love and care. But any that will come with the son back to the owner's home are rescued from their lostness and from the death they would have experienced. They can choose to stay separated from the owner, or choose to return with the son to the home of love and care.

[Newbie]

Okay, now make that analogy work when the pet owner is all-knowing and all-powerful, capable of seeing exactly where the dog is at all times and more than capable of calling it home from anywhere.

[jimwalton]

Sure, since there's no sense in tricking and trapping the dog and bringing him back to live in a cage, the owner knows that the dog has to choose to come back to the house. Therefore, even though he knows where the dog is, his love for the dog allows the dog to choose, rather than use his power to force the dog back to the house. So the son goes out to get to know the wild dogs, to let them know that the owner is safe, and to invite them back. The owner stays at the house to prepare a good meal and welcome them home.

Obviously, just a story, and no story is without its weaknesses, but I hope you get the point.