An all-out assault has been launched by Russia against Ukraine. By all predictions, catastrophic loss of lives will occur by the time this conflict ends. For most of us, war has largely been seen and described on the nightly news. Even then, I feel this deep visceral pain viewing the images and hearing the reports from Ukraine. Imagine the Ukrainians who are fighting to defend their country or fleeing from direct conflict. Their lives will never be the same.

In the narrative of Jesus’s betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane in Matthew 26, Jesus was arrested by His enemies who intended evil for Him. It was at this time that His disciple Peter took the matter into his own hands and defended Jesus with his fishing knife. Even though Peter had every right to defend Jesus, after he struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear, Jesus commanded Peter: “Put your sword back…all who take the sword will die by the sword.” Jesus did not take the life of His enemy, but instead He offered His life for him.

This is counterintuitive to me, because my human inclination is not love or sacrifice for my enemy. I would rather kill my enemy than serve him/her. Yet Jesus offered this hardest lesson. It was hard at the time – and Peter did not like it. You see, Jesus is commanding His followers to become peace makers by loving and praying for our enemies and those who persecute us (Matthew 5:43): by not seeking revenge (Matthew 5:39), but by giving up oneself (John 15:13).

How should Christians think and act during war? First, know that “God never intends for people to war against one another” because God does not rejoice in people being killed – and neither should we! Second, “even in evil intended by men, God can use it for His purpose” (Habakkuk 1:5-11). Therefore, we need to trust the world events to the sovereignty of God. Finally, as peacemakers in the world, we are to pray and stand together to promote peace. 70% of both Russian and Ukrainian people are self-professed orthodox Christians. Let us join them in praying for peace in the region and entrust the suffering and death to God’s comfort and judgment.