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Surrounded by Death—and New Life
Sometimes the brokenness of the world is too much to bear. I was in Berlin last week on my way home from a City to City meeting. It turned out there was a museum showing an exhibition of modern Ukrainian art about the war. I thought it’d be a good idea to visit. While I didn’t expect it would be a “happy” experience, I was not prepared for how it ripped me to pieces.
Perhaps it’s something about the power of art to bypass our “rational” processes. Perhaps it was something about actually having a few hours of free time outside the context of the war. Either way, I ended up sobbing in the middle of an art museum in Berlin—trying to do so quietly so I didn’t get escorted out.
The exhibition was of modern interpretations on ancient works of art in light of the Ukraine-Russia war. The piece that undid me was titled “Loss”: a rendition of Mary holding the Christ-child (pictured above). Only in the Ukrainian piece, the Holy Child is replaced by a blacked-out silhouette. It is dedicated to all the children killed in the war in Ukraine and the parents who have felt the bitter loss of their little ones—a pain too unbearable to think on for long.
I stood there in front of the piece with my face in my hands to hide my tears from the museum guard. He clearly didn’t know how to react. I realized that the portrait of Mary mourning the missing Child was exactly the right image. As Simeon prophesied to Mary: a sword would pierce her own soul. She would lose her son. But Mary was not the only one to lose a son on that fateful day.
At the cross, the Father also lost His beloved Son. He felt a pain deeper and more acute than any we could ever imagine. He has experienced at an infinite level what too many Ukrainian parents have felt over these 16 months. And thus He is the one who can comfort them.
Moreover, this same Son who was lost in death came back in victory, in new life. And even in the midst of much death in Ukraine, Christ is bringing new life. Just today, I had the joy of meeting Lara and Victor, two recent stories of His victory.
Lara (below left) is from Kakhovka, a city in the still Russian-controlled part of the Kherson province. She lived for a year under Russian-terrorist occupation before she was finally able to get out. She ended up at our church a couple weeks ago and put her faith in the Gospel. She has so much joy now after such horrifying experiences—something that could only come from the victory of Christ.
Victor (below right) was at our church service for the first time today. He is from Bakhmut—a name many now know as it has been the hottest point of fighting for months. He got out a while ago and was in western Ukraine for a time. He ended up in Svitlovodsk recently due to changes with his housing situation. Victor came to our humanitarian aid distribution on Friday and was invited to come to church today. He came to the service and also ended up receiving the gift of salvation. Those who have come to faith over these months are well over 70 at this point.
There are only a few days until the beginning of month 16 of the war. The Russian terrorist bombings have increased of late—an act of desperation before the impending Ukrainian counter-offensive. While most of their missiles have been intercepted by our air defenses, we are not without losses. We are still surrounded by death. Additionally, within the span of a few weeks, I have learned of the deaths of my uncle, a personal friend, and perhaps the most meaningful long-distance mentor I’ve had, Tim Keller.
Yet we see God working life even in the midst of death. Ukrainians are continuing to plant churches and serve millions of displaced persons. We’ve just finished out year one of our City to City Ukraine Incubator for church planters with a live meeting. A couple planters joined in virtually, but the majority of our cohort made the trip to Svitlovodsk. It was a refreshing and life-giving time.
I also recently had the chance to present CTC to a denominational meeting in Kyiv and met a couple other planters/re-planters who are interested in joining our training. Our hope is to be able to provide funding for all our CTC planters in the early stages as well.
We continue to feed 2,500 people a month, though the reality is that the donations and partner organizations have mostly dried up. I believe that Ukrainian victory is only a short few months away—but that doesn’t mean the need will disappear.
We are truly grateful to God for those of you who, 16 months into this war, have not grown weary in your prayers or your generosity. We would ask you to keep praying, keep giving, keep fighting with us for God’s victory in the lives of Ukrainians and in Ukraine. You can find specific prayer requests and make a donation using the button below.
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