Co-authored with Andrea Garzon
“As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him” (Psalm 18:30). What does it mean that His ways are perfect? We find in the scriptures several instances where God speaks about His ways. He says that He will cause us to walk in His ways. We also learn that His thoughts are not our thoughts, and that His ways are not our ways.
What we now are going to share is based on two revelations which make the foundation for our exposition: “Contrary to common belief, God’s goal is not to improve us. The new creation is perfect, how could you fix perfection? There is nothing more spiritual than being yourself and enjoy it” (Andrea). “"Freedom is the ultimate form of life because it is God's kind of life" (Ole Henrik).
"God's kind of life" implies that we are free to choose and that ALL choices are okay! All of them are righteous and holy because they are born out of freedom. We often think there is one specific plan God had for us and this is what we call "His ways" for our lives. However, "His ways" really means "His ways of doing things" and "His kind of life", and both are perfect because He is love. God is free, therefore we are free and whatever we chose is perfect! That completely takes off from our shoulders that heavy burden of "what if I mess up?" The quoted verse from the psalms confirms how God is free and how He shields our choices in freedom! To trust ourselves and our choices means that we trust God and the quality of the new life we have been granted!
In Genesis 20 we find a most curious story. Abimelech, King of Gerar, took Sarah because Abraham lied and told everyone she was his sister. When God intervenes all blame is put on Abimelech, and Abraham goes free. In fact Abraham’s riches are increased in the course of everything that transpires. We never find that God rebuked Abraham for his actions. On the contrary, Abraham is commissioned to pray for Abimelech so that God saves the king’s life. This account is a most startling testimony on God’s faithfulness and how He treats His own. Abraham acted out of his freedom to choose and God shielded his freedom to be himself in whatever form that would appear. To our natural minds it seems quite unfair that God blamed the king for everything. What to us appears as apparent unrighteousness (Abraham lying) isn't so to God, because Abraham was righteous, that is, in a New Testament understanding indwelt by God.
Whatever deed we did under the influence of the spirit of error was evil. WHATEVER deed we do now is righteous. There are plenty of things that look really "unfair" due to our conception of "right living", but according to God's perspective EVERYTHING we chose is okay, and this is His will for our lives; that we can chose. We have often believed that God's perfect will is like a target and if we miss the target we would have to conform to His "second will" (or plan B or back-up plan if we somehow mess up.) There is no plan B, everything is plan A.
It demands a huge leap of faith to dare to enter the reality of His ways, that is, to act and live in total freedom which is His ways. Do we dare to trust that He is our shield no matter what, and that everything works together for good for those who love God? And isn’t it so that the greatest love we can show God is to trust His reality when it opens up to us and boldly enter into it? We often think God is saying: "Ok, you are free, BUT if you chose wrongly, assume the consequences!" Well, yes, in a sense there are consequences due to our choices but they are all God's will.
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