Be on God’s Side: Wisdom from Abraham Lincoln

Last updated on: June 23, 2021 at 5:15 pm by Susan E. Brooks

Be on God’s Side: Wisdom from Abraham Lincoln 2021-06-23T17:15:49-04:00 Susan E. Brooks

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To be on God’s side was Lincoln’s concern. Oil Portrait by Susan E. Brooks, artist.

“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.”
― Abraham Lincoln

Too many terrible wars have been fought by those who think God is on their side. As Lincoln said, we should be concerned about being on God’s side. God is love, and so I don’t think God chooses one group to pit against another. Instead, if God has a side, it would be the side of love and justice, compassion and peace. “Blessed are the peacemakers,” said Jesus in The Sermon on the Mount.

Does God take Sides Against People Groups?

It’s beyond time we Christians stop pitting ourselves against other groups as if God were for us and against everyone else. Though one might construe ways to back up such a stance with isolated scriptures, this goes against the character of God, which was clearly revealed to us through Jesus.

Jesus was always defending the outsider and inviting her in. In Luke 10, he even made the Samaritan (hated by Jesus’ own people) the hero of the story of The Good Samaritan. At the end of that story, Jesus says, “You go, and do likewise.” He doesn’t even answer the lawyer’s question, “Who is my neighbor?” Instead, Jesus turns it around and asks “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” (Luke 10:29-37 ESV)

Jesus avoids answering the question the way it was asked, and says, in essence, Here’s what you do. You go be a neighbor by showing mercy to anyone and everyone who needs you, no matter who they are. Stop trying to figure out whose side God is on, and you go get on God’s side—the side of mercy and grace for all.

Lessons From a Children’s Song

As I write this, a song keeps coming to mind. “Jesus Loves the Little Children of the World” teaches a truth we need to hold on to as adults. In all of their beautiful colors, Jesus loves the children of the world. He doesn’t love only Christian children or only American children, but all of them. If we could live by this simple truth, we’d have answers to many of our modern problems. We would try to help refugees, the impoverished, those children who suffer because of discrimination—all the children of the world.

I realize these problems are complex, and as one person, maybe I can’t do much to change the world. But I see groups of Christians fighting about issues that should not be divisive. And how are we going to help people if we spend all of our energies fighting each other? We have to ask God to change our hearts before we can change the world.

How can we stop fighting among ourselves and get back to caring for the world? I’d love to hear your opinion in the comments.

I’m an artist who loves to write. If you’d like to get to know me better, please follow me on social media.

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