Voice of Ukraine

From Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 356):

This I know, that God is for me.
In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
Psalm 56:9-11

It’s Valentine’s Day, and while my Facebook feed is filled with cards, flowers, hearts, and messages of love, I keep thinking about what love is.

The Bible tells the greatest love story one could imagine:

• God is love (1 John 4:8)
• For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
• In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)

The greatest act of love did not include flowers or chocolate but consisted of a crown of thorns, a broken body, a cross, and blood poured out for the salvation of many. It was not pretty, but it was precious.

However, God’s love does not stop there. He gives us a responsibility to love, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

He calls us to imitate His love to the fullest, to love others more than we love life itself. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). This is the kind of love we’ve been witnessing for the past year (for the past 9 years, to be exact). Millions of people standing up to the enemy, uniting in their effort to restore justice and protect their loved ones and complete strangers. Thousands of them have laid down their lives. I am well aware that not all of them knew Jesus, but it didn’t prevent them from following His example and loving to the greatest extent possible.

As I stand in awe of this love, I remember one more responsibility given to us by the Lord and articulated by Apostle John, “Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18). Letting love seep through our actions, seeking truth in all circumstances, and bringing glory to the Giver of Life – that is the least we can do in response to this great love we had been given.

Please, cover Ukraine with your love and prayers:

• pray for the families of those who had laid down their lives fighting against the Russian invasion. Pray for God’s comfort and healing.
• pray for the families who have been separated for almost a year because of the war. Pray for comfort in loneliness and for love to be stronger than distance.
• pray for the disadvantaged and most vulnerable groups – the orphans, the elderly, the sick – who are often left behind. May they feel God’s presence, and may His love reach them through the loving hands here on earth.
• pray for God’s love to grow stronger in His children.