COMMENTARY
The director of an orphanage in Ukraine told the fifty-some children under her care that they could each bring one special item to the bomb shelter. She knew that, in addition to food and a warm place to sleep, the children needed a comfort object—something to help them feel safe. Once in the shelter, she asked them to share what they’d chosen, expecting to see a lot of stuffed animals, photos, and blankets. Instead, one by one, the children showed her their children’s Bibles.
For those children, their Bibles reminded them of something beyond their reality of explosions and fear. I think this highlights an important truth: in times of war, people need more than just bullet-proof vests and MREs; they also need hope.
Research has found that hope has a direct impact on physical well-being. It correlates with having lower levels of depression and with having higher levels happiness and purpose in life. It’s more than blind optimism; it’s the lived expression of the belief that it’s possible for the future to hold good things.
That’s why in our relief efforts, as we care for people’s bodies, we also need to care for their hearts and souls. We need to ensure that on the other side of war, Ukrainians have not only survived; they have maintained—or even found—a reason to live.
We need to share the Gospel. We need to share hope.
The Coalition of Hope that’s Active in Ukraine
In 1946, in the wake of WWII, Bible ministry leaders from countries around the world convened in a small town in England to take stock of the global situation. They faced a somber report: upwards of 60 million people dead, cities reduced to rubble, people scrambling to make ends meet in nations that had been upended. But they had assembled with the audacious belief that—in the face of this widespread devastation—they could yet share hope with the world. They believed that “spiritual first aid” was a necessary partner in the global work of rebuilding infrastructures, economies, and neighborhoods.
The coalition that formed that day, United Bible Societies, has grown and is now active in more than 240 countries and territories. (When was the last time you heard hundreds of countries agree on something?) For more than seven decades, Bible Societies have been on a united mission: ensuring that everyone who wants to can access and engage with the Bible, believing in the hope it brings.
The day United Bible Societies formed, the delegates in attendance penned this letter to the United Nations: “[We] fervently pray that [the Bible] may indeed be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path, as you seek for that true and lasting peace which the world so sorely needs. Thus will the peoples of the earth lift up their hearts in hope and confidence as they face the unknown future.”
Right now, Ukrainians are in desperate need of that hope and confidence. And Bible Societies in countries like Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Poland, and the U.S.A. are collaborating behind the scenes to share it.
Real-time reports from my colleagues in Ukraine reveal their hope-in-action as they care for those around them:
“My husband is risking his life every day to help so many desperate people. Cries of people, tears, horror. But now we are trying to do all that we can…”
“There is no panic but trust on God and thinking how to support our nation with the Bible. However, as we speak, fighting [is] very close…”
“Yet, local churches and volunteers in Southern Ukraine continue serving people in need—with food and Bibles…”
These colleagues are giving away the Bibles they normally would have sold to pay their salaries. They’re delivering food, medicine, and Bibles to orphanages and hospitals between air raid sirens. They’ve stayed in active war zones to provide Scripture and support to those who can’t leave.
Why would they risk their lives just to share the Bible?
They risk their lives to share Scripture because the Bible brings something that war can’t take away. Its message is beyond battles, beyond fears, beyond the atrocities of the day. It points us to Jesus, our ultimate hope. And as the Ukrainian Bible Society’s General Secretary says, “People desperately need firm ground, they need answers, they need hope.”
Hope for the Future
Hope is borderless. It doesn’t bow to the rise and fall of nations. It lives in those who continue to see the humanity—and more than just humanity, the image of God—in others. That’s how we overcome: caring for one another in mind, body, and spirit.
As I write this, “donate to help Ukraine,” “volunteer to help Ukraine,” and “how to pray for Ukraine,” are all breakout search trends on Google. I am encouraged that people are sending humanitarian aid in record numbers, and I challenge us to also support spiritual and psychological aid efforts.
Psychologists remind us that the trauma that Ukrainians are experiencing will linger, and we’ll need a long and coordinated response to help people process enduring psychological wounds. As we plan how to best care for these hurting communities in the long term, let’s also meet their immediate need: hope that brings the resilience and the strength to keep going.
Let’s act to encourage millions like those orphaned children in the bomb shelter that there is still hope for the future.
Robert L. Briggs, president and CEO of the American Bible Society, told CBN News, “That’s why in our relief efforts, as we care for people’s bodies, we also need to care for their hearts and souls. We need to ensure that on the other side of war, Ukrainians have not only survived; they have maintained—or even found—a reason to live. We need to share the Gospel. We need to share hope.”
Briggs has served many roles at the American Bible Society, including vice president of the Mission Advancement team and senior vice president of the U.S. Ministry team. In that role, he focused on the goal of seeing 100 million Americans engaging with the Bible by 2026.
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