When asked if he thought that God was on the side of the Union, President Abraham Lincoln responded by saying “My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” There is a similar sentiment expressed in the 5th Chapter of Joshua in the Bible’s Old Testament, whereby a man stands before Joshua with a drawn sword, and Joshua asks “Are you for us or for our enemies?” The man replies “Neither, but as commander of the army of the Lord, I have now come.” Joshua’s response is to fall facedown on the ground in reverence and ask what message the Lord might have for him.
In each of these instances, there were two sides taken by man. That seems to be what mankind does – create a situation where it is us versus them, and you are either for us or against us. However, what was made clear to Joshua was also understood by President Lincoln, whereby God has a side that is not influenced by the desires of mankind. There may be one thousand different ways to oppose each other, but if they are all opposed to God, then we see that the reality is that there are only two sides – God’s side, and the wrong side.
Right now, our nation seems to be clearly divided into two sides, with some of the loudest voices on those sides shouting across the land “you are either for us or against us.” Christians need to take a step back from this, and instead seek to understand God’s position, for God is indeed always right. God’s ways are not our ways, and God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. He came not with an army to crush the rebellion, but rather with the gift of His son to be sacrificed on the cross. He provided the greatest act of love as a way to conquer the obscenity of sin, and then told us that if we are to be saved, we need to follow Him. God’s way seems counterintuitive, especially in the midst of the seemingly all-consuming rhetoric being plastered across the airwaves and internet, but God is always right.
The Declaration of Independence states that we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights. As a nation, we need to take a step back and give due respect to our Creator. His will for us helped to bring life to this country, and we need to seek His will today as we chart a course forward. We can have unity as one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Or we can have two different sides of mankind, battling each other. Let us seek to know and be on God’s side.
Peace and blessings – Pastor Aaron