Russia (MNN) — Russians and Ukrainians should be enemies, as a war between the two countries drags into its eighth year.
But Denise Godwin of International Media Ministries tells of Russian churches giving money for displaced people in Ukraine. “What I witnessed was Ukrainians and Russians, in a big church in Kiev, worshiping together and coming together and strategizing together of how to reach people in both regions. It was being reported that churches in the region in Russia had taken offerings for 100,000 displaced people in Ukraine.”
These Christians can do this because they serve a power higher than the governments of Russia or Ukraine. Godwin says, “I think, sometimes in modern politics, we get caught up in all of the debates and opinions. But really and truly, when the rubber hits the road, Christianity and what Christ has done for us is actually working.”
Godwin encourages prayer for fellow Christians around the world, including those who could be considered enemies. “Behind the scenes of politics, behind the scenes of news and incidents that we see, there are individual churches. There are believers and non-believers alike who need God’s mercy, God’s grace, and our prayers.”
The header photo shows a small church in the war zone between Russia and Ukraine. Header photo courtesy of Надія Матейко, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
