When we read Genesis 1 and 2, right at the beginning of the Bible, God didn’t create the garden, hand the first people a rulebook, and return to Heaven. He walked with them in the garden, but they betrayed that relationship and chose to rule themselves. So, God removed them from the garden.

Some time later, God returned to the story and personally called Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses. Even after the Exodus, when God set the Israelites free from Egyptian slavery, he wanted to live among them. However, as with their ancestors, the people rejected that closeness, so he gave them the Law and priests as intermediaries. The remaining 1300 years in the Old Testament were a parade of Israel’s betrayals of their covenant with God.

Then God sent Jesus, who would himself pay the ransom price to redeem those who would follow Him. At Pentecost, God began filling those who would trust in Jesus the Spirit of Jesus to walk with them - just as he wanted to walk with Adam and Eve in the beginning.

Some might think God had a faulty plan in the first place, and history proves he has improvised ever since. I’m confident that God knew what he was doing from the beginning. History was and is part of his strategy to create free humans capable of sharing the stewardship of the Creation with him. Seen in that light, God’s plan was ingenious from the start.

From the very beginning, God planned for us to live free of the law, which is only possible when we live in relationship with God. Unless we are walking closely (daily) with the Spirit of Christ, the “best practice” is to stick with the Law. Otherwise, we’re likely to hurt someone whom we’re supposed to lead toward redemption. But true freedom is found in relationship with the Spirit of Jesus, and in the fellowship of other believers. That’s the way to tap into the power of Pentecost.