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"Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'"
(Matthew 25:37-40)
People from all over the world are coming to the aid of the people of Ukraine. Over 3 million have been forced to leave their homeland. They are refugees fleeing to other European nations, and they are at the mercy of the kindness of strangers. Hungary, Romania, and Poland are among the nations welcoming and housing those exiting their war-torn nation.
I am grateful for generous humanitarian ministries like Samaritan's Purse and the Southern Baptist Convention's Send Relief. Send Relief, in coordination with many SBC Disaster Relief efforts, is working hard to help alleviate the suffering of so many.
One amazing story I heard recently was about one of the SBC missionaries who was on furlough in the USA when the war broke out in Ukraine. He was so moved with compassion that he went back overseas to help any way he could. He reports how a unique ministry has arisen among the refugees. Many of those fleeing their country are followers of Jesus. Ukraine has the highest number of believers of any European country in that region. There are missionaries in the SBC who are greeting these fleeing and helping them with their basic needs. They are also training them in how to share the gospel with those who will be hosting them. I thought that was so neat. It reminded me of how the same thing happened in the early church after Stephen's martyrdom. The believers fled from Jerusalem, and as they went, they shared the good news of Jesus Christ. Acts 8:4 states, "Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word."
You may not be able to go physically and help the Ukrainian people. But you can pray and financially support the many good ministries who are there on the ground providing emotional, physical, and spiritual care. These dear Ukrainian people are our modern day "least of these" that Jesus talked about in the Gospel of Matthew. Many of them are very traumatized and have only the clothes on their backs.
I watched an interview with a medical doctor working with Samaritan's Purse serving in Lviv, Ukraine. She described how so many coming to them were dehydrated and hungry, and some had been wounded. This one lady and her team were inundated with so many people in dire need of medical care.
Would you pray now for the people of Ukraine and consider sending a financial gift to ministries like Send Relief and Samaritan's Purse? |
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