Мир

Like many of us, I have been glued to the reports coming out of Ukraine. It is heartbreaking. In many ways Ukraine looks like any other modern nation. They have McDonalds, Domino’s, and KFC. They sell Starbucks coffee. Downtown Kyiv looks like any American city. Yet, today, the residents are living underground in cellars and subways listening to and feeling vibrations from missiles exploding above ground. They know Russian soldiers are invading their country. They are likely to lose their freedom. I cannot fathom what they are going through. I cannot imagine hiding downstairs here at church not because a hurricane or tornado was coming but because cluster bombs were raining down on Hartford. Coming up and seeing buildings destroyed and bodies littering Main Street. My heart goes out to all the citizens of Ukraine. They are in my prayers.   

Remarkably, once in a great while, art does imitate reality. As I watch the news, I cannot help but think of the 1984 movie “Red Dawn,” which depicts the United States being invaded by the Soviet Union and its Cuban and Nicaraguan allies. In the film a group of American high school students rise up and resist using guerrilla warfare tactics. Similarly, regular everyday citizens of Ukraine – teachers, moms, dads, grandparents, factory workers, and stockbrokers – have taken up arms in order to defend their nation, and, sadly, many will die as a result.

Now, it would be inaccurate to say that God never supports a war. As badly as some want to portray Him that way, Jesus is not a pacifist. When we read of Jesus’ second coming in Revelation 19:11-12, and the final battle between good and evil, we discover it is exceedingly bloody and gory. As Jesus was preparing to send out His disciples, He said to them in Luke 22:36, “…if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one!” That’s right. He knew it was a world hostile to their message and they may need to defend their lives. This is still a hostile world. It is a fallen world full of fallen people, which means sometimes war is necessary to prevent even greater evil. If Hitler had not been defeated, how many more millions would have been killed? If the American Civil War had not been fought, how much longer would African-Americans have had to suffer as slaves? Yes, sometimes war is necessary. God acknowledges that. In Ecclesiastes 3:8 we read there is “A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.”

While sometimes war cannot be avoided, it should never be our first instinct or desired objective. When Jesus was being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane Peter drew his sword to defend Him and Jesus replied, “Put away your sword!...Those who use the sword will die by the sword” (Matthew 26:52). Those whose first impulse is to use violence in pursuit of their goals will face consequences. We had Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot of Cambodia, Idi Amin of Uganda, Augusto Pinochet in Chile, the Haitian dictator François “Papa Doc” Duvalier, Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, and now Vladimir Putin. Evil and violent people will come to a violent end and ultimately stand before Christ (as will we all) and be held accountable.

As Christ followers, we must always be on the side of peace. Jesus preached in the sermon on the mount, “God blesses those who work for peace” (Matthew 5:9). Whether it is in a disagreement within your family, at work, or even at church, let us always be peacemakers. Мир (“myr”) is the Ukrainian word for “peace.” Please pray for peace in Ukraine.

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