There is an interesting meeting that happened in the Bible (Joshua 5:13-15) on the evening prior to the Battle of Jericho. The Bible says that Joshua was out on a recognizance mission when he encountered a man with a drawn sword in his hand. The man looked pretty impressive to Joshua and so Joshua figured that whichever side this warrior was fighting on, that side was bound to win the battle! So Joshua asked the man: “Are you for us, or are you for our enemies?” The man replied, “Nay, but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come!” In other words, the man said to Joshua; “I didn’t come to takes sides; I came to take over!”
Well, in light of that, I am amazed today by the number of people and groups who strongly advocate that God is on their side. I even read of a preacher who made a prophecy prior to this year’s Super Bowl that God had revealed to him that the Denver Broncos would win the game. As I read about this, I begin to reflect upon how trivial we have made the deep things of God. But God cannot be manipulated by men! God is not a Republican,neither is God a Democrat. God is not a liberal nor is God a conservative! God is not even an American and God is certainly not a Denver Bronco or a Seattle Seahawk! When we seek to align God with our various groups, ideologies, political parties, philosophies or even sports teams, we fail to recognize a fundamental fact about God. God is sovereign! God is the “Holy Other!” God is above and beyond all of our clichés and classifications!
The real question today, no matter what political or ideological view we might hold, is not whether or not God is on our side. The real question is whether or not we are on God’s side! We must always remember that God doesn’t come to take sides in our human affairs; God comes to take over! God is not in the business of pushing or even helping us to push our various agendas because God has an agenda of his own! God’s agenda is the Kingdom of God: The rule and reign of God! Everything God does is for His glory and His Kingdom! Remember! God doesn’t come to takes sides; God comes to take over!