Six Things Christians Can Do About Ukraine

This week we just finished our Wednesday night bible class on peace. The irony is not lost on me that this happened on the same day a new European war was breaking out. War and conflict are common on planet Earth, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine is high stakes compared to other more recent conflicts. I was walking the hall at a local high school this week and overheard a group of male students discussing their fear of getting drafted to fight in World War III. The point of this article isn’t to stoke fear (it’s actually to stoke hope), but it is worth pointing out the fact that fear is in the air.

The most relevant question for this article is: What can Christians do in this time of war? Here are six things that come to mind.

1. Be people of peace.

This a prime directive for Christians. In a world at war we don’t join and escalate the conflict. We are people of peace. I listed it first because it is totally foreign to the nature of our flesh. Human nature strives for conflict. God’s people pursue peace. In Matthew 5:5, Jesus teaches “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” We need to evaluate in this conflict how best to create the wholeness of Shalom. Peace is not appeasement but war is not peace. How do we create peace when the enemy might be evil? Do we lay down arms in the name of peace? Do we make peace by making war? We should pray, fast, and search the scriptures on how to spread Peace in 2022. Peace starts with love.

2. Love our enemies.

Jesus teaches in Matthew 5:43-45, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” To be a ‘son of your Father’ means to act like your Father -- what a difficult challenge! We’ve been talking about this on Sunday mornings and how difficult it can be to love our enemies. I have applied this (correctly) to the people in the pews, but it also counts for our foreign enemies. We as Christians should be focused on lovingly and prayerfully considering how we can be like God and love our enemies.

3. Pray.

Scripturally, we should love and pray for enemies – as an extension of our calling to pray for all people, as the Apostle Paul teaches in 1 Tim 2:2. In this time of conflict, that especially applies to our Ukrainian friends and global neighbors as well. We should pray for peace, for an end of conflict, for soldiers, and civilians. We should pray. We should fast. We should fall before the throne of God and ask for his mercy. “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” James 5:16

4. Weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn.

I am glued to my phone. I’m not really a cable news person but I find myself frequently checking and becoming immersed in the news out of Ukraine. The horrifying thing about a European war in the 21st century is that major parts of the conflict are being recorded on cell phones and posted on the internet. Viral clips of a father weeping as he sends his daughters to safety while he stays behind to fight. A Russian fighter plane firing missiles into what seemed like a residential area, while young children screamed in terror. I am furious and tearful as I imagine how my own children would respond to such trauma. 

We should weep with those who weep, Paul says in Romans 12:15. If anyone claims Christ (like many public figures have) but issues statements like,  “I don't really care what happens to Ukraine,” it is hard for me to believe they are filled with the Holy Spirit and are children of God. Obviously it’s not my place to judge that in an ultimate way, but Jesus did tell us we can know someone by their fruit. We should mourn and we should not immunize ourselves to the sufferings of others. Christians are the people who move towards the sound of suffering. Christians invented orphanages. Christians invented hospitals. We should mourn and seek to comfort -- with words and deeds -- those that suffer.

5. Serve.

This is self-evident. We should love in word and deed. We should mourn in word and deed. Matthew 25:31-46 paints a vivid picture of the return of Christ. When Jesus sits on his throne to judge the nations he will divide them, saved vs lost, based on simple criteria. Jesus told the saved they could enter the kingdom of God because: I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a refugee and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me. The saved are recorded as asking, “Lord when did we see you and do these things?” The King replied, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ 

How will you deal with the impending humanitarian crisis? How will you support Ukrainian refugees? It is unclear what options we will have as Christians but when they arise we should rush to take them. How will you support our sister congregations in Ukraine? What political rhetoric about refugees will you espouse? What will you tolerate your politicians saying? Feed the hungry, give them a drink, clothe them, feed them, accept the refugees like they are Jesus himself because they are, in a sense. 

6. Pledge allegiance to the kingdom of God.

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 3:20. If you are a Christian, Jesus of Nazareth is your King. Christian is your nationality and citizenship. Pledge allegiance only to Christ. In Roman eyes, the major transgression that led to persecution of Christians was that they would not pledge divinity and allegiance to Caesar AND Christ, but to Christ ALONE. 

Be very careful in the coming days to only advance the cause of Christ and not a worldly cause. I consider myself patriotic. I love America, but my only allegiance is to the kingship of Christ and His church. The agendas of the cross of Christ and the flags of the world are occasionally incompatible. Follow the cross alone.