The Crisis in Ukraine - A Pastor's Reflection 🇺🇦

The events unfolding in Ukraine are horrible.

We can only watch the brutality of the attacks and the bravery of Ukrainians from comfort and safety. How can we respond when there is nothing we can do? A few nights ago when doing bedtime prayers with Zoe we prayed for the Ukrainian people and then I prayed for Putin. Zoe asked who he was and I explained he was the one behind the war. She said, “He sounds like a very wounded person.” It took me aback when she said that. I was praying for him because Jesus told us to pray for our enemies. But hearing her made me realize I was just going through the motions and I had forgotten the important part of the commandment. She was viewing him with compassion and love, that is what Jesus told us to do.  

It is hard to view our enemies, whether on a world stage or close to home, with compassion and love. It is far more normal for us to wish harm on those who harm us or others. But truthfully, that does nothing helpful. It’s like wishing to get rid of a hole in the yard and pulling out a shovel to dig it out. Hating back only creates more hate. Jesus told us to love our enemies because it’s the best bet we have. It’s our best chance for a more loving future. Do I think Putin’s heart will be softened if we all pray for him with compassion…honestly, probably not. But it’s still the best chance we have. 

It is likely to change us however. When we practice these hard commands that Jesus gave us we build our “spiritual muscle” that helps us stand straight in our faith during hard times. It will likely always be hard to return love when we are shown hate, but I trust it will get easier the more we practice.

Peace+

Lisa