10/07/2002 Entry: ""
Posted by Maynard @ 11:08 PM MST
Iraq
There can be little doubt that George W. Bush intends to remove Saddam Hussein if the Baghdad Butcher doesn't comply with U.N. Resolutions. The only question is, who is going with him? Unless something drastic happens across the pond, the Brits are coming along. I should know, I saw RAF Tornados flying in Tucson the last few weeks. Will the American people? Probably, if the polls are accurate. But will God?
A Nazi in The Longest Day is asked if he thinks the weather will clear so the Germans can send fighters against the Allied invasion. He asks himself, rhetorically, "Whose side is God on?", which is the question all military members ask themselves when under fire. And one which implies numerous questions, best left to the individual and their conscience.
In his second innaugural address, Abraham Lincoln said "Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. ... The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes."
The same can be said of today's war, mostly. Both sides read their holy books, and each (one more heavily than another) prays to a god, but the prayers of both cannot be answered by the same god. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. Those purposes, I believe, are understood by some in part, and no one in full, save God Himself. Others understand nothing of them. But the question remains: whose side is God on?
We should not ask that question.
We should ask ourselves, "Are we on God's side?"
If we are, then He is for us. If not, He is against us. There is not a third option. We must endeavour to make sure our country changes for the better, to match our way of life to His word, not vice versa. Then we can have confidence that He is for us, and that, like Joshua and Israel the second time they assaulted Ai, we will triumph over the enemy. The pattern of Israel is the pattern for the United States: we were defeated September 11th, 2001, so we should seek God, repent, and obey. Not just then, but now, today, this hour.
Then we can go whoop up on those who strike at us.
