February 20 (Day 362): Dear brothers and sisters, We had a wonderful day yesterday. There were many people in the church. It was nice to see new people. One our family returned from Poland and we were so glad to see them. But most of all we rejoiced at the meeting with Paul. We were so glad to see him. During the worship he addressed the church with the words of encouragement and said that weapons and ammunition are important at war but prayers and guidance in faith are much more important because the war even if it brings to victory, does not solve all problems.
We stayed after the worship and talked with Paul. We asked him many questions. Here are some of the questions and answers:
“What is it like for a Christian to be at war?”
There are many erroneous opinions about it, but the Scripture says that we are warriors of Christ. Every Christian is a warrior and has a duty to protect his family, his church, his country from evil. The state is one of the institutions ordained by God and our duty is to protect it. The commandment “Do not murder” tells us not to take somebody’s life illegally, for selfish purposes. At war we liquidate the enemy. We do the same work as police when they stop crime. That is why we, Christians must be there.
“What is the hardest thing for you at war?”
It’s a hard physical work day and night that makes us weary. And we are tired emotionally because we do not know when it will end.
“There is a belief that there are no non-believers at war, people seek God more. Is it true?”
No, it’s not true. People come with their backgrounds and most of them don’t know God. They think they are Christians because they know traditions and rituals, but they do not know God. I would say they become more superstitious.
There is another belief that is also wrong. People have tendency to think if they suffer they become saints. Just because Ukraine is a victim of enemy’s aggression, it does not make us innocent of our sins. There were many problems in our country before the war and there are many problems now. We should remember about it.
When the war is over and Paul comes back home he will be a wonderful preacher and a good church leader. Please, pray with us for his protection, for his strength and for his emotional state.
In Christ,
Lyuda
Voice of Ukraine 
3 responses to “2/20/2023 – Belgorod Dnestrovsky: “What is it like for a Christian to be at war?””
Dear Lyuda,
Having Paul visit was such a wonderful blessing!
His answers were very wise and helpful for us all to understand more about Christians in the war and reminding us there will still be issues after the war.
I pray many will come to follow Jesus during these hard times! May God open eyes to the Truth!
Love in Christ,
Jill
LikeLike
Sharing you news with others at Northwoods Presby.Church USA
LikeLike
C.S. Lewis, veteran of WW I, speaking during WWII [“Learning in war-time”]:
Before I went to the last war I certainly expected that my life in the trenches would be, in some mysterious way, all war. In fact, I found the nearer you got to the front line the less everyone spoke and thought of the Allied cause and the progress of the campaign; and I am pleased to find that Tolstoi, in the greatest war book ever written, records the same thing- and so in its own way does the Iliad. War, for most of us, will not simply cancel or remove from the slate the merely human life we were leading before we entered them…
What does war do to death? It certainly does not make it more frequent; 100 percent of us die, and the percentage cannot be increased. It puts several deaths earlier, but I hardly suppose that is what we fear. Certainly, when the moment comes, it will make little difference how many years we have behind us.
Does it increase our chances of a painful death? I doubt it. As far as I can find out, what we call a natural death is usually preceded by suffering, and a battlefield is one of the very few places one has a reasonable chance of dying with no pain at all.
Does it decrease our chances of dying at peace with God? I cannot believe it. If active service does not pursuade a man to prepare for death, what would?
Yet war does do something to death. It forces is to remember it… war makes death real to us and that would be regarded as one of its blessings by most of the great Christians of the past… we see unmistakably the sort of universe in which we have been living all along: all schemes of happiness that centered on this world were always doomed to final frustration. But if we thought that for some souls, and at some times, the life of learning [pursuing knowledge and beauty], humbly offered to God, was one of the appointed approaches to the Divine reality and the Divine beauty which we hope to enjoy hereafter, we can think so still.”
LikeLike