When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?” “Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the Lord’s army.” [Joshua 5:13-14 (NLT)]
The Israelites had just crossed the Jordan River and were preparing to conquer Canaan when Joshua came upon an armed man. Joshua was a stranger in a foreign land and, as Israel’s general, he may have been scrutinizing Jericho’s defenses to determine his plan of attack. I wonder if Joshua brandished his sword (while shaking in his sandals) as he queried, “Friend or foe?” The man, however, was neither ally nor adversary. Identifying himself as the commander-in-chief of the Lord’s army, his loyalty was to neither side. His allegiance was to God and the only side he was on was God’s! God wasn’t on Israel’s side any more than He was on Canaan’s. Israel, however, was on God’s side because their conquest of Jericho was part of His master plan of redemption. It was because they were on God’s side that the fortified city’s walls collapsed.
Jump ahead some 500 years to King Asa of Judah. In 2 Chronicles, we find the people of Judah under attack by an Ethiopian army of tens of thousands equipped with 300 chariots. Asa turned to God for guidance. Rather than ask God to be on their side, he prayed that Judah’s side was God’s and confirmed that it was in God’s name that they fought. In spite of overwhelming odds, Judah’s army was victorious, not because God was on their side but because they were on God’s. Asa then committed his kingdom to seeking God with all their heart and soul.
Unfortunately, twenty-one years later, the King forgot whose side he was on when Israel invaded Judah. Rather than turning to God, he committed himself to an alliance with the pagan Ben-hadad of Aram. Although the alliance at first appeared to be a success, the prophet Hanani rebuked the king for violating his covenant to seek the Lord’s side. Sadly, Asa’s foolhardiness meant that Judah would continue to be at war for generations.
When addressing a joint session of Congress in 1984, President Ronald Reagan noted that America was founded by men who believed God was their rock of safety. The President then added, “We must be cautious in claiming that God is on our side, but I think it’s all right to keep asking if we’re on His side.” 120 years earlier, in the midst of the Civil War, one of Abraham Lincoln’s advisors said he was grateful God was on their side. Lincoln replied, “Sir, 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.” Being on God’s side should be our concern, as well. Our all-powerful God does not choose sides; there only is one side and it is His.
Whether the dispute or disagreement is religious, political, familial, among neighbors or nations, we tend to get behind one side or another. Before taking sides, drawing lines in the sand, making threats, burning bridges, creating alliances, waging battle, or championing a cause, we must prayerfully determine which side is God’s. In many of our disputes, there’s a fair chance that neither side is God’s! While we may not be sure where God stands on every question, we do know He’s on the side of things like love, peace, forgiveness, truth, mercy, compassion, salvation, justice, healing, generosity, humility, decency, righteousness, and kindness. Let His Spirit and Word be our guide. Remember, it doesn’t matter whose side we’re on, if it isn’t God’s!
They always win who side with God. [Frederick W. Faber]
In Acts 16, we meet Timothy, the son of a Greek Gentile and a devout Jewish woman. Paul probably met him several years earlier when he preached in Lystra or Derbe. Both Timothy and his mother were Christ followers and it was from his mother that Timothy became knowledgeable in the Hebrew Scriptures. By the time Paul returned to Lystra, Timothy was a young man who was well-regarded by the churches in Lystra and neighboring Iconium. Seeing his potential, Paul asked the young man to join him on his second missionary journey. Before departing, however, Paul asked Timothy to be circumcised.
I think Satan chuckles every time he sees another division in Christ’s church. He probably shouted with glee when the Southern Baptist Convention recently expelled five congregations (including the mega Saddleback church) and when the no-longer-united United Methodists lost 1,800 congregations and found themselves embroiled in lawsuits with many of those congregations. Although Methodist Bishop Tom Berlin sadly noted that, “The path of anger and hostility is not the Christian way,” it seems to have become the way of Christ’s church in the 21st century! While today’s issues are different, they are no less divisive than an issue that threatened the very existence of the early church.
I lost my first father the same year I gained my second one. I only had my birth father for twenty years, but I was blessed to have my father-in-law for thirty-seven! Dad J lived his life well—with vigor, enthusiasm, joy, laughter, and a whole lot of love. Compassionate and generous, responsible and helpful, good-humored and resourceful, he was a man of faith and integrity (with a large dose of mischief on the side). The Bible might describe him as a man after God’s heart.
While editing photos, I came to one of a pipevine swallowtail. Seeing it on my computer rather than the camera’s viewfinder, I realized it had seen far better days. Its once beautiful wings were tattered and torn, only one “tail” remained, an antenna was missing, and, with many of its scales gone, its wings were more translucent than iridescent blue. Perhaps it had a close call with a predator, the wind had tossed it around, or it simply was old. In any case, it was damaged goods and no longer beautiful.
Devotions of the Heart 