Council Community Church

Pastor's Corner

THE GOD OF YOUR CAUSE? 9-9-05

During the American Civil War both the North and the South claimed that their cause was the just and righteous one, and that God was on their side. When asked about whether he thought God was on the side of the North, Abraham Lincoln replied: “The real question is not whether God is on our side, but whether we are on God’s side.” Joshua discovered this same truth before the conquest of Jericho (Joshua 5:13-14)

We seem to forget this with some regularity, though. We forget Who is in charge, and run our own finely-tuned agenda, while stamping the name of the Living God on it to add the sound of legitimacy. But is God truly in charge of your pet-project? Or are you simply trying to squeeze Him into your mold, so that you have a justification for what you want to happen?

Donald McCullough, in “The Trivialization Of God,” writes: “If God is brought in secondarily, after the problem and solution have been defined, that will invariably shape our image of God. We may view God, for example, as simply an aid to fulfilling our human aspirations, simply Big Help for what is essentially a human struggle for self-improvement.”

And so we often shrink GOD down to a harmless-sized god that can be easily manipulated to suit our individual desires. McCullough continues: “An individualistic Christianity leads inevitably to an individualistic god. Those who have been suckled at the breast of American culture will not easily be weaned from the milk of individualism. A God who in any way threatens to lead us beyond our personal autonomy will likely be reduced to a more manageable size.”

Our own personal “god-in-a-box.” That doesn’t have much reverence and awe attached to it, does it? “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.’” (Hebrews 12:28-29) It doesn’t matter what we think; it doesn’t matter what we feel; it doesn’t matter what we want; if it doesn’t match with God’s will, then we are out of line – plain and simple.

And this holds true if we choose to separate ourselves from brothers and sisters in Christ (or anyone else, for that matter) simply because they fall on a different side of an issue than we do. Jesus placed paramount importance on loving one-another (John 11:34-35). It is also written, “In you anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” (Ephesians 4:26-27)

If there is a clear-cut case of sin, that is one thing. But the fact is that most of the issues which we choose to abandon our brothers and sisters over fall within that great, gray area of life which cannot be so easily categorized as purely right or wrong. That is why it is of utmost importance to be seeking the Lord’s side, rather than trying to fit Him onto your side. And God’s side is clear on this issue: We are to be loving each other in spite of differences of opinion. We are to be pursuing one another to reconcile our differences. We are to thwart Satan’s attempts to alienate us from each other by choosing to look past surface issues to the person beneath.

Always remember: God wants us to separate people from issues wherever possible. Disagreement over ideas and opinions – no matter how dear they are to us – doesn’t change the fact that the people involved are created in God’s image, and are to be valued far more highly than their political, economic, ecological or culinary preferences. Was Christ’s primary command to defend your cause at any cost, or to love your sisters and brothers in the faith?

So, are you absolutely confident that God is on your side? Confident enough to ignore His directive to stay in relationship with other Believers? Make sure that you’re on God’s side, because as the Narnians discovered: He isn’t a tame lion.