Whose Side is God On?

I ran across this passage this morning.

Joshua is about to go into a battle which God Himself ordered him to fight. "Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked 'Are you for us or for our enemies?'

'Neither,' he replied, 'but as commander of the Army of the Lord I have now come.' Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence and asked him 'What message does my Lord have for his servant?"

The commander of the Lord's Army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.'" Joshua 5:13-15.

What an enigma. God orders Joshua into battle, and then declares He is not on either side. Perhaps God meant to force a perspective shift on Joshua. God is never on our side: we are on His, or not.

A wholesome reminder to Christians living in a democracy at war. Many have asked if God is on our side in the wars we are fighting. The answer is evidentally no. We may pray that our country finds itself on His side--and I think a war against terrorists is--but we should always remember that the "side" is bigger than us, that we didn't define it or create it, and that it is only the gift of Providence to be His tools for a time, not a role we have earned or deserved.