Allowed to Live

The fact that you and I are breathing today exemplifies God's purpose for our lives - we are here on this earth in order that God may be glorified.  Each day is a gift, and we should seek to honor God with this gift every day until He calls us home.  That is the simple purpose to which each of us is called.   Ecclesiastes 12 (ESV) provides commentary on life's purpose:
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

A filmmaker named Colby Barrett wrote a piece for The Christian Post recently, relating his experiences in Ukraine while filming a movie.  He shared how he attends the same evangelical church when he visits Kyiv.  He talked about what occurred one Sunday morning in that chuch:

The weekend of September 27 was a big occasion for that church. They were celebrating 32 years of ministry, hosting a pastors' conference, and dedicating a brand new 4,500-person worship hall built in the midst of the war.

Early that Sunday morning, Russia attacked the area with multiple Iranian-designed "Shahed" drones. The timing of the attack does not appear to have been a coincidence, as there are no military installations nearby.

There were 20 pastors in town for that pastors' conference who narrowly missed death, Barrett relates - one of the drones came within, as he says, "mere feet," of the building where those pastors were sleeping.  Another drone went into the church park and another hit a building next to one of the parishioners, but it did not go off.

By 11:00 that morning, worshippers gathered in that church for the dedication.  200 people were baptized that morning.  This is indicative of the resolve of the Ukrainian people. Barrett writes, "Since 2022, Russian forces have murdered at least 52 Ukrainian Christian leaders and damaged or destroyed 650 churches. Whole denominations have been banned. In occupied areas, believers have been killed, tortured, and driven underground."

He writes: 

The growing church in Kyiv isn't an anomaly; it's emblematic of a broader spiritual awakening across Ukraine. Almost a third of Ukrainians say their religious faith has grown since the war began. Putin's bombs aren't breaking spirits; they're driving people to prayer, lifting them up as believers.

Every missile that falls without killing becomes a testimony. Every church service held under threat becomes an act of defiance. Every new baptism represents Putin's failure. The attacks designed to crush hope are instead igniting it. Putin wanted to create fear. He's creating faith instead. The same attack on my favorite church in Kyiv destroyed Pastor Mark Sergeev’s home, where his wife and children were sleeping. They survived and were worshipping with their neighbors in the rubble just hours later.

Barrett, who produced a film called, A Faith Under Siege: Russia’s Hidden War on Ukraine’s Christians, writes: "Putin's war on Ukrainian Christianity isn't just failing, it's producing the very thing he sought to destroy: an unshakeable faith that persecution cannot extinguish."

While church buildings have been destroyed and leaders killed, the Church in Ukraine is continuing to stand.  The attack on faith has produced a counterattack in the spiritual realm - people are coming to Christ.  These brave Christians are recognizing God's power and purpose and continuing to stand while Russia continues its destructive mission.

There are those who have survived whose lives are continuing to make a strong statement of their love of and faith in Jesus Christ.  This can teach and inspire each of us - when the pressure hits and tough times come, are we resolved in our faith?  We should realize that we're here for God's glory and our lives on earth continue to last because God has ordained our days - He has given us something to do: to fulfill His call for our lives.  And, to enjoy Him while we carry that out.  Until He takes us home.  Our heavenly home will be far better, but while we're here on earth, we have a job to do - for Him!