God is on my side… Really?

“God is on my side” I heard someone say the other day as they shared about a dispute they were having with someone else.

As I sat there listening to this person give me all the details about why they thought God was on their side and not on the other party’s side I began to wonder.

So many of us are so quick to say that God must be on our side because of what we have read and others have told us. Clearly when it comes to the way he feels towards us as our father this is indisputable – He always has and always will be on our side. However can this be also said when we fight and argue with each other about what after all often only amounts to egotistical pettiness?

Today where I am in my journey I sincerely no longer believe that God takes sides. Instead I believe that God has a position and not a side that he chooses to stand on. We are the ones that like to take sides often choosing the one that is most convenient to us or aligns itself best with what we believe is the truth. Naturally we expect God to join us there yet as Jesus showed us this is not really the case.

In the Gospels when an adulterous woman was brought to Jesus by the Pharisees, whom clearly believed that they were representing the side that God stood in, Jesus drew a line on the ground. He followed this with a great question which not only communicated to all of them where God stood in the matter, but most importantly showed them that the reason he had drawn a line on the ground was to show everyone of us that in the Kingdom of Heaven there are no lines.

Gods position is and has always been within the space of wholeness where love, truth, peace, grace, forgiveness, mercy, justice, and unity thrive. These wonderful premises He stands for are capable, if we are willing to give then a chance, of bringing down every argument and judgement that is often responsible for forcing us to the place where we need to take sides with each other.

Today remember – when God seems to be on our side all that has happened is that we have chosen to join Him where he stands and not the other way around.

Have a great and balanced week!

Pablo