This is essentially a question about what God desires for us. Saint Paul wrote that above all, He desires the salvation of all people. Does this include those who do evil? An answer may be found in a passage from the letter of the Apostle of the Nations to Timothy: “God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4).
Desire
Saint Paul’s use of the word “desire” should be understood as God’s wish or longing. It is a yearning for salvation to become the portion of all people. However, this desire must be distinguished from the divine will that becomes reality. God speaks and it comes to be (cf. Gen 1:3). Nor is it a decree, for God has predestined no one to life in heaven or in hell. There are no better ones chosen for salvation and worse ones destined for suffering. Saint Paul reveals a desire — one might say, a dream of God — that excludes no one but seeks the good of every person. Yet God, who is love and desires the best things for man, never compels him to anything. To take away freedom would be a negation of love. God’s desire is meant to stir, to fascinate, to draw man, but it will never deprive him of the ability to make his own decision. God will not realise His dream of man’s salvation without man’s willingness and consent.
God’s desire for salvation knows no limits, imposes no conditions, and creates no elite circle. This universality, therefore, is not and cannot be restricted by the fulfilment of conditions or membership in any particular group. Furthermore, the offer of salvation to people does not depend on their origin, culture, or station in life. Saint Paul explained this to the communities he founded: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28). From God’s perspective, it concerns every human being, regardless of their circumstances or place of birth.
An Empty Hell?
God’s desire, encompassing all people, can sometimes raise doubts regarding the salvation of those whose lives were marked by crimes or public sins. Do, for example, the leaders of totalitarian states during the Second World War also belong to the number of those whom God desires to see in heaven? This juxtaposition, which provokes astonishment or incomprehension, can reveal how great the mercy of God is. He desires the salvation of all, and for Him every person is wanted. The parable of the merciful father shows how God awaits the return of His son. Stripped of his garments, humiliated by his choices and their consequences, the cause of much suffering, he is welcomed with an embrace, the restoration of his dignity, and a feast (cf. Lk 15:20–24). The reaction of the elder brother expresses a deep incomprehension that one could act in such a way (cf. Lk 15:28). Yet such is precisely the love of God, who rejoices at the finding of His children. This is also beautifully illustrated by the example of the criminal crucified by the Romans on the same day as Jesus. In the final moments of his life he turned to Him, and He promised him paradise. Shocking. How many of those wronged by that thief would have had every right to feel outrage? The good news, however, is that for God nothing is impossible (cf. Lk 1:37; Mt 19:26). Even the greatest sinner can be in heaven, because God seeks people until the very last moment in order to draw them to Himself.
A help in accepting this truth may come from the discovery that I too am a sinner. As Saint Paul wrote: “The wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). From this reality Jesus Christ has delivered me. Comparing sins or bidding on their gravity and consequences does not lead very far, because every person’s story is different and marked by its own suffering, weakness, and the consequences of choices. What remains essential is the experience of the truth that God died also for me, and the wonder at the fact that He desires my salvation and wishes to see me in His kingdom, and therefore strives for this unceasingly every day.
Does God, then, so guide the history of people that each one can choose heaven? Even in the final moment. And consequently, is hell empty? Theoretically, this is possible. In theology there appear views or hopes for an empty hell, but once again this depends on the decision of the human person. Will everyone accept forgiveness? Will everyone desire mercy? Will each one, like the prodigal son, return to the Father? This we do not know. The scene at Golgotha illustrates this well, where one criminal clung to Jesus while the other reviled Him (cf. Lk 23:39–41). It is in this sense that the fulfilment of God’s desire depends on the will of man.
A Task
Since God has revealed His desire for the salvation of all people, a question arises about the role and tasks of the community of believers. How does one align oneself with this desire? How does one engage in its realisation? The first space is undoubtedly prayer — for those who seek the truth, for courage, light, and determination in journeying toward God. Of no small importance is also the witness of life, which should be a showing of the joy that flows from living in God’s presence, the experience of acceptance, forgiveness, and peace that the Gospel brings. It is not a matter of moralising, but of drawing others into the experience of life by grace.
Another space within the community is openness and readiness to receive those who come, who ask, and who seek. These are special moments, often decisive ones. All who live the Gospel should guard against the temptation to make of grace a space of control — a temptation as old as the story of Simon Magus (cf. Acts 8:18–24). The attitude of deciding, controlling, or believing that access to God’s gifts can be subject to human disposition stands in contradiction to the universality and gratuity of God’s desire. It is a counter-witness and can hinder its realisation.
God’s desire for the salvation of all people also needs witnesses and proclaimers. Jesus, ascending into heaven, left His disciples a clear command: “Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel” (Mk 16:15). The proclamation of the Good News thus becomes one of the most important ways of participating in the realisation of God’s desire for the salvation of all people. Evangelisation, however, is not merely a human effort or an initiative of the Church. It is also a particular gift and instrument of God’s action in history, through which God goes out to man, seeks him, and gives him the possibility of responding to His desire. For this reason it remains perpetually relevant and continually necessary.
A Real Possibility
God not only opens the gate of salvation but also actively cares that man may truly make use of this gift. The Incarnation, as well as the sacrifice of the Cross and the Resurrection of Jesus, become an effective action enabling man to return to God. God is therefore the One who not only proposes salvation but also realises it in the person of Jesus Christ, and thereafter unceasingly strives for it to be received and experienced by man.
This is possible because, as the theological tradition observes, “what was visible in Christ has passed over into the sacraments of the Church.” This means that the efficacy of Christ’s saving work — His Incarnation, the sacrifice of the Cross, and the Resurrection — remains really accessible in history through the sacraments, the action of grace, the Church, and the word of God. Moreover, it is realised in the lives of people in many other, extra-sacramental ways as well. Sometimes God sets out on the road to meet those fleeing to Emmaus, and sometimes He remains by the well to meet the Samaritan woman. He desires, and so He seeks and makes encounter possible.
In this way, God’s desire for the salvation of all people becomes a concrete and real possibility of attaining salvation. God grants man all the necessary means leading to this end. He desires that everyone have access to what is necessary for salvation and be truly able to make use of these means.
A Perspective
It is worth noting that Saint Paul, in revealing God’s desire, also writes about the knowledge of truth. “God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). This is not merely a matter of acquiring religious knowledge or intellectually understanding the truths of the faith. In the perspective of Saint Paul’s teaching, truth is understood as the fullness of God’s revelation, which was accomplished in Jesus Christ. It is in Him that God most fully unveiled Himself, His intentions, and His saving plan for man. Moreover, truth here is not merely a content or an idea, but a Person. Jesus Himself said of Himself: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6). And this means that God’s desire for salvation is realised through man’s encounter with Christ, through entering into relationship with Him, and through discovering in Him the certainty and reliability of the saving plan of God the Father. Man begins to trust that God truly guides his history toward fullness and does not leave him alone in the face of sin, weakness, and death.
Salvation is therefore not merely a distant goal, but is a path of relationship, of gradually coming to know God and learning to live by His grace. One might say that God’s desire is fulfilled in a relationship whose end does not exist. God desires not only the good of man, but man himself — his presence, his closeness, and his life with Him forever.
