In 1991, I visited Russia when it was still the old Soviet Union. Later that year, the Soviet Union dissolved, and Ukraine became a free and separate nation.  

The first leg of my visit took me to Moscow, the seat of Soviet power. The city felt dark and foreboding. We stayed in a government-approved hotel that appeared to come straight out of a Cold War spy movie. You could feel a dark and palpable presence that hung over the city. 

I then visited Ukraine. While still under the control of Moscow, it had a very different feeling. The people were happier. I saw smiles on people’s faces. During my visit, I sensed the spiritual forces that were at play over old Russia and Ukraine.

A lot of natural and spiritual history is at play as to why the current war between those two nations is being fought. The reasons for the conflict are not as simple as the news broadcasts suggest. We can too easily label the people of a nation, not its leaders, for the current conflict. We need to look deeper into why this war is taking place. But even after we discover that history, it is still about those who are suffering, no matter where they stand geographically or politically. I came away from my visit in 1991, still seeing the faces of the citizens who were living in both Russia and Ukraine.

We can get caught up in the reason why a war is happening, but be blinded to the suffering that is happening on both sides of a conflict. Our greatest concern must always be about the people who are suffering under the current political dynamics unfolding on both sides.  In that place of suffering is where the Gospel is most clearly expressed.

For a follower of Jesus, it’s always first and foremost about people. A political spirit will divide us between nations and cause us not to see their mutual suffering through the lens of God’s mercy.

As politically charged as any war can become, in God’s Kingdom, it has always been about bringing God’s peace and mercy to those who are suffering, no matter who they are and what side of the conflict they represent. That can be challenging to grasp when we have been schooled to see an earthly conflict from only one perspective. Those who demand that we see a conflict between nations from only one side are being affected by the same controlling spirit that is keeping the people of Russia and Ukraine divided, continuing to suffer catastrophic losses of life and peace.