ORIENTATION: Whose side is God on?

Throughout the week of orientation, we talked about how action and language that puts God on "our side" and not on the side of all people is dangerous and destructive. It is especially dangerous and destructive to exclude people who are already marginalized by society. During the session with Hind Makki, I wondered aloud if it would be better to just stop talking about God and start talking about loving each other. Sometimes, the whole notion of God caring about this broken world is just too confusing, too contradictory, too impossible, too unfair, too annoying, too ridiculous. The words "God's will" or even "God's work" confuse me and I wonder how could we possibly know? Hind Makki's insight was that talking about God is and will be part of the way humans make sense of life, because the majority of the world's population has some relation to God or gods. What do we do when we experience the limits of ourselves, and sense the possibility of vast unknown? I have realized that whether one believes in God or not, the way people think and talk about gods or God or no God is important in shaping the way we relate to one another, here, in the knowns and unknowns of daily life. If the God or gods we talk about are/is a God(s) of relationships, then maybe it is easier to think about the will of
God(s). It is about right relationships with others. It means there is something precious, miraculous, and holy in each of us. I have wondered about using the word Love to describe God(s), since when I think about God and Love, I think of the same things: big, relational, powerful, mysterious, diverse, all knowing, joyful, confusing, complex, wonderful, terrifying, beautiful, simple.