“It’s kind of like when my dad used to let me ‘help’ him as a child fix the car. He didn’t need my help. In fact, my help probably slowed everything down and made things a bit messier. But the things I did were definitely some sort of help. I was definitely involved in the work. And the reason my dad included me was to help me grow and so that I could spend some time with him. He didn’t need it – he could have done that job entirely apart from me – but my being there meant I was involved, I spent time with my dad and I learnt (a little). It was for my good. And what did my dad get out of it? The joy of spending some time with his son (I assume, but for the purposes of the analogy, let’s run with it!)
God does exactly the same with us. He doesn’t need our help, but he includes us so that we will grow and learn to depend upon him. He, in turn, gets to delight in his son or daughter. He doesn’t need us, it is for our benefit that we’re involved at all, but when we are God delights in us nonetheless.”