It was, of course, my intention to post, this evening, the second part of a mini-series on the question "What is a Christian?" However, the invasion of Ukraine, by Russian military forces on the order of Vladimir Putin, has led me to shelve that post for, at least, a week, and comment on the current situation.
I make no claim to be either a political, or a military, expert so what follows is merely the thinking of a fairly ordinary man - but one who is not altogether lacking in the ability to discuss such matters. I must also make clear that I am not "on the ground" and, like the vast majority of us, depend on receiving information that is, in terms of historical research, "Secondary Sources".
It was in the early hours of Thursday that Russian president Putin announced, in a pre-recorded television broadcast, that he had ordered Russian troops to enter Ukraine. Since then, the Russian forces appear to have had what may be referred to as "mixed fortunes"! Certainly, they have not swept through Ukraine in the manner in which Putin may have envisaged! The Ukrainian military, supported by patriotic Ukrainians, have repeatedly stemmed the flow. There have even been some 'amusing' incidents as when a column of Russian tanks stop at the side of the road. A video was widely shared in which a Ukrainian gentleman stopped to ask them what was wrong. He was informed that they had run out of fuel! His immediate response was: "I'll give you a tow back to Russia!" It's always good to be able to exercise a sense of humour!
It is also reported that Russian soldiers are laying down their weapons; that Russian citizens are deserting their country in order to avoid conscription; and that many of the Russian élite are not giving the president their support.
However, what prompted this post was the 'ticker-tape' message on the television screen in the home of friends that my wife and I were visiting on Friday. I cannot recall the text, verbatim, (it was in French!) but it was along the lines of Putin encouraging Ukrainians to overthrow their own government. I turned to my friend and commented: "What a great example! He sits in safety in Moscow, while sending his own troops to potential death, and urging the Ukrainian people to lay their own lives on the line by seeking to bring down their own elected government!" That, was when I thought of Jesus!
What a difference between them. Putin sits in safety, and comfort, and urges others to do his bidding in a move that is only made in order to seek to increase his own power and influence, and to 'make a name' for himself. Whatever we may think of such attempts in much earlier times, at least the leaders of countries tended to actually lead their armies. They were there, at the front, in the thick of the fighting, risking their own lives as much as they expected others to risk theirs.
And what about Jesus? He dwelt in Glory - in a realm that is beyond the comprehension of our human, mortal, finite, minds. Glory is inestimably further above even the riches of the Kremlin, as the most sophisticated computer known to mankind is greater than a simple abacus! It is a realm in which sin does not, and could not, exist. It is a realm in which He knew true and pure worship that is far beyond what any of us is able to offer to Him. Yet He took upon Himself the very human flesh that He had created, and entered this sinful realm in the weakness and vulnerability of a human infant.
He knew infinite power, and glory, and wisdom, and knowledge. As, Himself, God, He was able to share, fully and intimately, with the Father. Yet He " « ... did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. » (Phil.2:6-8).
He became sin for us! Paul writes to the disciples of Jesus in Corinth: « For our sake He [the Father] made Him [the Son] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. » (II Cor.5:21). Have you ever given serious thought to what those inspired words are actually saying? They are saying that, not only did the Lord Jesus pay the penalty for your sin and mine as He hung on that Cross, but that He actually, for a brief moment of human time, became the very personification of sin - its ugliness, its blackness, its evil, its vileness, its - well, even as one who has a fairly good command of the English language, and a reasonably extensive vocabulary, I cannot think of words that would adequately describe what I want to describe. But I know this - that He became all of that for me; and for you! Indeed, I believe that it was then that Jesus uttered what we refer to as «the cry of dereliction» - « My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? » (Matt.27:46; Mk.15:34) - because, for that moment, the Father, Who cannot look upon sin, turned His eyes (we speak anthropomorphically!) away from the only-begotten Son.
Putin; Jesus. "Quelle différence" as my French-speaking friends might say! I commend one of them to you - and it is not Vladimir Putin! May you discover, if you have not already done so, that Jesus is the only One Who is fully worthy to be followed; and the only One Who will be with you at all times, and even into eternity.
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