God allowed every experience I had as a boy becoming a man. It nearly left me bitter, broken and confused. But instead, the Lord used it to make me a better man and to share with others that they can experience the same.

The Netflix series “Adolescence” gave me a glimpse, not only of what boys today are going through, but what men are becoming as a result of their boyhood years. Today, boys and men are being guided by self-proclaimed “real men” on YouTube, social media, online message boards, and toxic masculinity cultures and subcultures antithetical to the life and teachings of Christ.

The series reminded me of what could have happened to me, as well as what I had to endure as a result of the same type of faulty masculinity within the culture.

My boyhood experience

Memories flooded back, reminding me of the challenging relationship with my earthly father and mother, who inadvertently sowed concern and doubts over my masculine development.

I was bullied often during my elementary and middle school years, and I’m a survivor of child sexual abuse. I even had the unfortunate experience of church members questioning my masculinity, because I simply believed in having character and integrity.

Growing up, I knew I was different. I struggled with fitting in with other boys, especially since I wasn’t into sports, and I didn’t embody much of the stereotypical behaviors of my peers.

When I was a kid, I was bullied a lot. The bullying consisted of a daily dose of verbal comments about the way I talked, walked and dressed.

In middle school, the verbal and physical bullying turned into something more heinous and calculated.

Boys as well as girls would tease some of the guys who were not considered “man enough,” daily insinuating the boys who were not displaying the behavior, bravado, misogyny and immaturity as other boys were not like the other guys. I was called “gay” or referred to as a “punk” for not fitting the stereotypical role of boyhood.

The piercing words that challenged my manhood left me wondering if I truly was capable of being the man God wanted me to be. Was I so different, so awkward, so unfit, that I couldn’t possibly fit in the world of men, much less other boys? Bitterness and brokenness began to set in.

It wouldn’t be until my adult years that I would learn I absolutely was like any other guy … understanding all of us are going through the same kind of suffering (1 Peter 5:9).

I’m thankful to God for even the small moments in my lifetime when he affirmed me, even in moments I strongly doubted my own growth into manhood.

Like many boys going through puberty, I always was happy with a girl or two who noticed me. One summer, at 11-years-old while on vacation in Colorado, a girl my age told me she thought my Texas accent was “cute.” I was the happiest kid alive.

Questioning ourselves

As an adolescent boy, concerns regarding girls, popularity and masculine identity come into question. As a preteen and teen, the question boys are asking is if they have what it takes. Like me, some ask if they simply are normal. Do they have “rizz,” if I were to speak in today’s slang.

But what happens when boys who feel rejected, powerless, bullied, incapable, isolated, purposeless and without direction grow up to become men? What happens when they grow up being raised to believe treating women as objects, looking down on underserved communities, and having unhealthy views of oneself is the standard?

What happens when boys and men start seeing Jesus as weak and the church as too feminine?

Many of these boys grow up with a view that says their very existence, their past struggles, their gender and their privilege should award them access to the front of the line of life. Some become world leaders. Some become teachers. And some become ministry leaders.

A world of boys and men are desperate to be loved, heard and affirmed. Though many run to false idols and versions of Jesus that affirm power and glory within themselves, the body of Christ has an opportunity to share the gospel to those within and outside the walls of the church.

Boys and men need other males to challenge them, to give them a chance to see an abundant life outside the isolated, dark, desolate and toxic life. Discipleship through relationships with godly men and a biblical understanding of who we are in Christ can make the difference for all boys and men.

Being discipled

My dad taught me the proper, medical things necessary as I navigated, like every boy, a changing body. But I needed more guidance than that. My dad did the best he could with what he had. But imagine how impactful it would have been to hear about the importance of self-control, discipline and a healthy, biblical view of my body and identity.

During college, when my parents separated and my father and I grew distant for a time, the Lord blessed me with one wise, Christian man after another to give me guidance.

One man taught me how to live holy. One man taught me how to be empathetic. One man taught me how to preach. One taught me what it meant to value and respect women.

They taught me how to “do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

It didn’t matter if I could throw a football, fix a car or if my dating status was single at the time. I was shown love and compassion by men who were mature in Christ, challenging me to walk in that same unity and maturity (Ephesians 4:13). Their practical wisdom, merged with biblical counsel, helped me to grow up during my 20s and 30s.

When boys and men are challenged in this way, there’s little to no room for prejudice, perversion, supremacy, misogyny and hatred of self or of others. Discipleship keeps us accountable and helps us tackle sin issues together.

As I grew in my faith, I gained the courage and conviction to share the gospel and engage in discipleship with other boys and men. God also is using the very thing I was bullied for—my love for art and creative expression—to reach souls for Christ.

Who I am in Christ

Anything outside of Christ used to define a man’s masculinity will come up short.

I learned I’m one of God’s sons in Christ. That also means we also will be disciplined as one of his sons, and even when it is painful for a time, God—who isn’t like our fathers on Earth—disciplines us so we may “share in his holiness” (Hebrews 12:10).

I’m also chosen (Ephesians 1:4). I may not have been chosen for any sports teams or a certain position at a company, but Christ chose me, and that’s the only validation I need.

Kendall Lyons is a writer, minister and cartoonist who publishes on his Substack page Kendall’s Comics. He is also the illustrator of Your Identity in Christ: Finding Who You Are in Who He Is by David Sanchez. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

The gospel is good news, so I want to start, not with opposition, but with sowing.

Three principles of sowing the gospel

There are three principles from Scripture about sowing the gospel.

1. Accessibility

The first principle we find in Scripture regarding sowing is accessibility.

Paul reminds us: “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14-15).

Pretty straightforward.

Gospel sowing requires accessibility. In other words, we cannot sow the gospel from a distance. It won’t work.

God showed us the example. The Word became flesh and planted his tent among us (John 1:14). Accessibility.

2. Generosity

When we think gospel sowing, immediately, the parable of the sower comes to mind. This parable is central to the synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark and Luke.

According to the story—one sower who sows the seed of the word of God, which falls on four different types of ground. The result? The seed will only grow in one of the four soils.

We think, “What a waste!”

Although the passage doesn’t limit the reception of the word of God to salvation, it still maintains that for the word of God to take hold in someone’s heart, they need multiple exposures.

In other words, we should be sowing with generosity, not scarcity.

I find the passage in Ecclesiastes particularly informing in this regard:

“The who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the word of God who makes everything. In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good” (Ecclesiastes 11:4-6).

I love it. Don’t overthink it. Just sow. Morning, evening. In good times and in bad times. That’s exactly what the sower of the parable did.

3. Transferability

Accessibility and generosity ensure, at some point, the seed will fall into the right soil, and the work of the Spirit will bring the seed to germinate and to produce new life—30-, 60-, 100-fold.

The seed produces grain Matthew tells us are sons and daughters of the kingdom. Brilliant. The seed becomes a person, who in turn will take the seed of the gospel and sow into other soils. Transferability.

In every person in whom you sow the seed of the word of God is the potential of a future sower.

There is more. Transferability ensures greater accessibility, because more people can be sent. Full circle.

Full circle

Think of Philip the evangelist. He is in Samaria when an angel tells him to go on the road between Jerusalem and Gaza. So, he goes. Accessibility.

Next thing, the Spirit says, “Catch that chariot.”

So, he runs. Generosity.

Then he sows the gospel and baptizes the Ethiopian, who becomes a son of a new kingdom. Transferability.

What does the Ethiopian do? He brings it back to his own country. Accessibility.

You see the logic?

Sowing the gospel amid opposition

I come from Quebec, Canada. There are three numbers to understand in my context: 24, 1, 500.

• The percentage of Canadians who speak the language of Moliere is 24, roughly 9 million people.
• The percentage of evangelicals living in Quebec, which is 2.5 times the size of Texas, is 1.
• The number of evangelical churches in Quebec is 500, versus just the 10,000-plus Baptist churches in Texas alone.

The numbers point to the largest unreached people group in North America, just a 5.5-hour flight from Dallas.

I live in downtown Montreal. Montreal has beautiful architecture that goes back to the 1700s. Downtown Montreal has the highest concentration of students per square foot in North America. Staggering. Of the 100,000 people who live there, most are between 18 and 35, single and have no religious affiliation.

Guess how many evangelical churches you can find in downtown Montreal that speak the language of Moliere? Zero.

The principles in play

When you minister amid opposition, you like to complain, lament: “Lord, do something about this!”

And so, he did. He told me, “Why don’t you go?”

Absurd!

I am a denominational leader. I have other important things to do, like emails and meetings.

After a Jesus moment, I moved my family downtown.

Accessibility: 1. Raphael: 0.

When you minister amid opposition, the task seems impossible.

“Me against 100,000 people? Where do I start? Do I even know how to start? This seems like such a waste. I don’t know the neighbors. Am I to run after cars like Philip? Denominational leaders don’t have non-Christian Ethiopian friends, Lord.”

After a second Jesus moment, I moved my office to a coworking space.

Generosity: 1. Raphael: 0.

That move was really scary.

The owner of the place asked, “So, who are you and what do you do exactly? You’re a pastor? And why do you want to rent an office here?”

“To evangelize you. I am super nice, I promise.”

So, I started a micro-church right in the middle of the downtown district. We meet on Wednesday evening after office hours. Why Wednesday? Accessibility.

No one is downtown Sunday morning. Forget it. Folks work from home on Mondays and Fridays and come downtown for work Tuesday through Thursday. So, Wednesday it is.

I invited the owner of the coworking space to come along.

“What a waste,” I thought. “He’s never going to come.”

This is often what comes to your mind when you minister amid opposition.

But he came! Who knew?

We decided to do a series on the Sermon on the Mount using Dallas Willard’s Divine Conspiracy material. For three weeks in row, he came and even took communion for the first time. I couldn’t believe it. As if the word of God has the power to work in the life of Quebecers, too. Who knew?

The following Wednesday, we had gotten to the part where Jesus says, “The one who is great in the kingdom of God is the one who obeys the law and teaches others to do the same.”

He came to me at the end of the service and said: “I am traveling to France next week. I need to know what you will be teaching next week.”

I said: “Why do you want to know?”

He said: “Did you hear what you just said? I need to know what Jesus asks of me so I can teach others to do the same. Isn’t that what you just said?”

Transferability: 1. Raphael: 0.

Who’s the opposition?

Yes, I sow the gospel amid opposition. But sometimes, I become the opposition to the very gospel I want to sow.

So, don’t do it like me. Do it like Philip. Sow the gospel through accessibility. Sow with lots of generosity, and watch the seed’s power toward transferability. Believe Jesus, the Author and Sustainer of the gospel, who says, “I am with you always—even amid opposition.”

Raphael Anzenberger is the executive director of the French-speaking Baptist Union of Canada, the founder of the innovation hub Station M, the president for imagoDei and an adjunct professor of intercultural studies. This article is adapted from its original presentation to an Ascent curators gathering in Alexandria, Va., on March 19. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

“When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less,” says Humpty Dumpty, defending his misuse of the word “glory” in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass.

Meanwhile, on this side of the Looking Glass, some people use the term “complementarity” to cover a broad—and sometimes incompatible and oppositional—spectrum of beliefs, spanning from hierarchy to mutuality.

But a word cannot mean what we choose it to mean. So, how should we understand and apply biblical complementarity?

An overview of opposing viewpoints

At the more fundamentalist end of the spectrum, scholars identifying as “complementarians” argue that while women and men hold equal value, they perform different functions, and women must fill separate, specific roles divinely designed to complement men.

They believe God ordained a permanent hierarchy granting men unilateral authority and assigning women subjugated roles. This includes prescribing that a wife “serve as [her husband’s] helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.”

Some theologians argue the term “hierarchy” would represent this position better, as it promotes an over/under dynamic between genders, rather than a mutual and complementary one.

In contrast, those identifying as “egalitarian” view complementarity through the lens of equality, unity and mutuality between the sexes. They argue hierarchical structures within complementarity mislead—and fundamentally contradict—the concept of complementarity.

Egalitarians decry that the trickle-down application of the fundamentalist perspective often perpetuates harm by affording women less voice, choice and dignity.

Since both the complementarian and egalitarian positions—and a wide array of ideologies in between—fall under the same banner of “complementarity,” the term requires parsing out.

The name says it all

Merriam-Webster defines “complement” as “something that fills up, completes, or makes better or perfect; one of two mutually completing parts.”

Based on this definition, true complementarity requires mutuality and results in the betterment of both parties, therefore rendering some usages of the term inaccurate and misleading.

For instance, any dynamic that—in practice—devalues, dehumanizes or disparages women falls short of “filling up” as true complementarity requires.

Likewise, any understanding of complementarity that fragments females and demands they live small, silent and subjugated lives proves incongruent with “something that … completes.”

And certainly, any ideology that perpetuates the harm, exploitation or abuse of another directly opposes “making better or perfect.”

Therefore, a construct that damages or divides cannot call itself complementarity.

And if the more theologically minded aren’t swayed or satisfied by Merriam Webster’s secular definition, the creation narrative and other Scripture passages lend further clarity to the proper understanding and application of complementarity.

The application of Scripture

The authors of Scripture lay down a path of wholeness, mutuality and unity wide enough for both men and women to walk along together, shoulder to shoulder. The path winds through the Old Testament into the New—from God’s perfect creation in the garden, through generations of human sin, and to his perfect restoration in the garden-within-a-city.

In Genesis 1:26–28, God creates man and woman—and thus all humanity—in his image. Jointly, man and woman exercise dominion and reflect the imago Dei. Together, they walk with God in the Garden of Eden—equal in dignity and purpose, though unique in form.

Sin and its associated curse enter the world and distort the God-human relationship and the male-female relationship. That tragic distortion fuels the narrative for the rest of Scripture but proves temporary.

Redemption ultimately will restore equality and flatten human hierarchy.

The prophet Joel describes an image of events that will occur in that time of restoring heaven and earth. Joel speaks for God, disclosing: “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy … even on my servants, both men and women. … And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2:29–32, emphasis added).

The apostle Paul further confirms godliness neither is hierarchical nor tailored along gender lines. Thanks to Jesus, “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, nor is there male and female” (Galatians 3:28).

Both men and women submit to God the Father, follow the example of Christ, and walk in the Spirit. As children of God, both sons and daughters share in his suffering and share in his glory. (Romans 8:16–17).

Paul especially stressed the need for mutual submission between husbands and wives to achieve unity in marriage (Ephesians 5:21). Jesus even prayed for oneness for all who believe in him (John 17:20-23).

In his God-given glimpse of heaven, the beloved disciple John describes a vision of wholeness: “Every nation, tribe, people, and language” stands before the throne and praises God. No mention of gender. The “old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

God dwells with his people and his people with him. Finally, the curse brought about by sin is vanquished (Revelation 22:3).

Shifting back toward unity and wholeness

Prominent New Testament scholar N.T. Wright centers his philosophy on the idea God created the world in—and purposed it for—unity and wholeness.

Wright believes God divinely designed the dualities of creation—including heaven and earth, land and sea, male and female—to function in complementarity with one another. Divorced from the gospel’s overarching emphasis on unity, however, men and women will find themselves competing for power and dignity, rather than celebrating their unique differences.

Viewing the gospel as a narrative of God’s mission to redeem and unify creation, Wright posits Jesus’s life, death and resurrection inaugurated a new era for humanity. In this era, God has invited believers to partner with him in restoring creation to the wholeness—read: complementarity—he originally intended.

“Heaven and earth, it seems, are not after all poles apart,” says Wright. “[T]hey are different, radically different; but they are made for each other in the same way (Revelation is suggesting) as male and female.

“And, when they finally come together, that will be cause for rejoicing in the same way that a wedding is: a creational sign that God’s project is going forward; that opposite poles within creation are made for union, not competition; that love and not hate have the last word in the universe.” (Surprised by Hope, 116).

A full scope of Scripture—not merely a few proof texts—defines complementarity as a mutual partnership between men and women through which two parts together strive toward unity and wholeness. This definition and application of complementarity respects the dignity of both sexes and requires the subjugation of neither.

Biblical complementarity

Biblical complementarity reflects God’s image into the world, and while allowing for gender differences and individual identities, proves incompatible with hierarchy, patriarchy or sexism. Obscuring hierarchy as complementarity, then, proves misleading and can allow misogyny to masquerade under a more innocuous moniker.

Accordingly, we propose a clarification of terminology, the application of Scripture and a shift back toward a working definition of complementarity that compels mutuality, fosters the flourishing of both genders and promotes unity instead of hierarchy.

A word cannot mean what we choose it to mean. The definition we ascribe to complementarity determines the cultural connotation and trickle-down application. It also communicates our beliefs about the value and dignity of women and impacts their safety and status in the home, church, workplace and broader society.

Thus, if—as Scripture and Wright contend—God purposed the world for unity and wholeness and has invited believers to join him in creation’s renewal and restoration, we must accept God’s invitation to true complementarity.

Lauren Roberts Lukefahr is a life-long resident of the Houston area. Her household currently includes a handful of beloved pets, plants and people. She is a senior director at Alvarez & Marsal, a student at Dallas Theological Seminary and a member of Houston’s First Baptist Church Sienna.

Christine Crawford is an advocacy writer, theology geek and the founder of The Holy Shift, a ministry that explores the upside-down kingdom of God as the right way forward in faith and life.

The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the authors.

(RNS)—There’s a new sin on the block, and its name is Empathy.

Actually, people are painting it both as a sin and a threat.

As a sin: Joe Rigney’s new book The Sin of Empathy released late last month, tells us empathy “often leads to cowardice” and “frequently leads to brazen malice and cruelty.”

Rigney is a fellow of theology at New St. Andrews College and an associate pastor under Doug Wilson at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho. Both Wilson and Christ Church have been in the news for, among other things, their advocacy of Christian nationalism.

As a threat: In a recent appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast, Elon Musk described empathy as the “fundamental weakness of Western civilization” and, like Rigney, expressed concern about “weaponized empathy” or, as he also describes it, “the empathy exploit.”

This is hardly the first appearance of the idea empathy might be sinful. Rigney himself began writing on it in 2019, with an article titled “The Enticing Sin of Empathy.” But I first encountered the idea, albeit not exactly under this description, in the 1990s, when I read Hannah Arendt’s famous book Eichmann in Jerusalem.

Adolf Eichmann

Adolf Eichmann was a key official in the Nazi party who played an important role in organizing Adolf Hitler’s “final solution.”

Arendt’s book recounts Eichmann’s trial in Nuremburg and dwells at some length on his sense of duty. Like most people, Eichmann was susceptible to humane feelings toward his victims, but he suppressed those for the sake of “duty.”

He, too, seems to have been worried that empathy might be sinful. Arendt talks about how he felt “uncomfortable” about two occasions when he made exceptions for Jews to whom he had personal connections.

She also talks about how, in his regard for the Nuremburg judges who went out of their way to try to understand him and to treat him with consideration, Eichmann mistook their “humanity for softness.”

‘Untethered empathy’

In Rigney’s book, weaponizers of empathy include persecuted LGBTQ people looking for compassion and support, people who accuse church leaders or their spouses of abuse and people who claim to be victims of racism. In one of many illustrations, he writes:

“Why is untethered empathy so destructive? [Earlier] we noted the way that weaponized empathy can be used to manipulate others. At the extreme end we can think of the way that the transgender movement uses the prospect of suicide to manipulate parents into ‘affirming’ their child’s ‘gender identity.’ ‘Would you rather have a dead son or a live daughter?’ This is a hostage situation filled with manipulation.”

Although Rigney does not invoke duty per se, he goes on to argue the path of virtue is to resist such manipulative ploys, ensuring one’s feeling for others remains tethered to the shore of truth and reality.

Rigney is careful to say it is not compassion he opposes, just empathy—and, indeed, just one kind of empathy. He identifies a morally neutral form of empathy, which he describes as emotion-sharing—feeling the feelings of another.

The vicious form is what he characterizes as “an excess of compassion, when our identification with and sharing of the emotions of others overwhelms our minds and sweeps us off our feet.” This is what he calls “untethered” empathy.

If this definition strikes you as unusual, you’re not alone, as Daniel Kleven points out in his paper “Empathy is not a Sin, Part 2: The Troubling Fruit.”

Cruel to be kind?

In connecting empathy with cruelty, Rigney focuses on the way empathy can be selective, privileging those with whom we empathize over others who may have just as much claim on us and our resources but, for whatever reason, have not garnered our empathy. This is a point many have made in writing against empathy and related emotions.

In addition to citing psychologist Paul Bloom’s well-known book, Against Empathy, Rigney also cites Arendt’s On Revolution, albeit selectively and missing her bigger picture. The money quote from Arendt, striking when taken out of context, is: “Pity … possesses a greater capacity for cruelty than cruelty itself.”

Bloom’s point, as well as Arendt’s, is founded on the idea empathy—or pity—involves significant feeling-sharing, which nobody does, or even can, manage to show toward everyone who might deserve it, and which some are inclined to indulge and amplify simply for its own sake.

Given their characterizations of empathy and pity, these are sensible points. If what it is for a field medic to empathize with a soldier who has just lost a leg to a grenade is to share his feelings—writhing in agony, feeling overwhelmed by the pain, and so on—then, please, let us have field medics who lack empathy.

But, at the same time, I doubt anybody outside the anti-empathy crowd really thinks of empathy in quite this way.

Rigney’s arguments notwithstanding, I think it is just obvious the fact empathy can be weaponized and can lead to “cowardice” or even cruelty in the ways he describes doesn’t make it sinful. It makes it risky. But a lot of good things are risky. Love is risky, and in precisely the same ways.

Irresponsible packaging

The “hostage situation” Rigney describes easily could be reframed in terms of love rather than empathy. In fact, it is reframed that way in a Gospel Coalition article by Justin Taylor that Rigney quotes immediately after the “hostage situation” bit.

Likewise for the point about unfairness: Love can lead us to treat people unfairly, privileging those we love over those we don’t, and it certainly can be overindulged simply for its own sake. One hopes Rigney is not preparing a follow-up book called The Sin of Love.

At best, Rigney’s arguments establish a modest conclusion, one most carefully expressed as something like “untethered feeling-sharing is risky in some ways.” Repackaging this under the flashy title The Sin of Empathy might sell books, but it is irresponsible and pernicious.

‘Common-sense empathy’

Normally when people talk about empathy, they don’t have Rigney’s “untethered feeling-sharing” in mind. Rather, they have in mind something like putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and doing your best to attend to and identify with their feelings, their interests and their desires as they themselves understand them. Call this “common-sense” empathy.

Now, return to Rigney’s illustration of the weaponization of empathy. His choice of case is telling. Whatever else might be going on when parents are being given suicide statistics in an effort to encourage them to empathize with and support their trans kids, untethered feeling-sharing is not what’s at issue. It’s not even on the horizon.

The typical situation where once-loving parents are rejecting, or considering rejecting, their trans kid—or worse—is one where feeling-sharing is largely absent, as well as common-sense empathy, compassion and even sympathy.

They are not in danger of being overly immersed in their trans kid’s feelings. Typically, and understandably, given they are not themselves trans, they barely even can relate to those feelings. What they are in danger of is hardness of heart.

By describing this situation in the terms he does—a hostage situation, emotional blackmail, a case where empathy is being weaponized—Rigney is discouraging any movement whatsoever from the status quo toward feeling-sharing, putting oneself in the other’s shoes, even simple compassion or sympathy.

Empathy suppression

Rigney likely would insist he is only advocating empathy be tethered to truth and reality. But relying on “truth and reality” as one’s only anchors is itself risky. How risky depends on the clarity of one’s vision.

Eichmann well might have said his discomfort on the two occasions when he spared Jews from being murdered was a result of allowing empathy to come untethered from truth and reality. To avoid harming others, we need all the tools God has given us—our capacity to discern truth and reality, for sure, but also our capacity for empathy.

I’ll be the first to acknowledge Nazi analogies are overused and polarizing, but Arendt’s study of Eichmann was a study in common humanity—the banality of evil and the potential for it in all of us. Part of what she showed us is mistaking humanity for softness is dangerous.

Musk is right about one thing: Empathy is an exploit—in the computer hacker’s sense of the term. It’s a back door through which people we have become hardened against actually might get through to us. Suppressing it makes it easier for us to remain hardened—to persist in taking advantage of them, abusing them, oppressing them.

Empathy suppression is what helped Eichmann and others steel themselves in the face of other people’s suffering to carry out their military duties.

It’s what Rigney pretty explicitly wants people to do when confronted with the demands of the people he describes as “weaponizers”—persecuted LGBTQ people looking for compassion and support, people who accuse church leaders or their spouses of abuse and people who claim to be victims of racism.

He wants us not to cave in to the “ideology of victimhood,” but in pressing this case in the way he does, he only risks encouraging us to victimize others further.

Michael C. Rea is the Rev. John A. O’Brien Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame and co-director of the Center for Philosophy of Religion. He is an honorary professor at the School of Divinity at University of St. Andrews. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

This article originally appeared in The Dispatch and is republished by permission.

Two hours before the fireworks in the Oval Office between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump on Feb. 28, I met with a delegation of Ukrainian church leaders from Kyiv.

Their visit long had been planned, and it only happened to coincide with the high-stakes presidential meeting. The pastors’ goal was simple but urgent: to thank the United States and encourage continued American support for their beleaguered nation.

Our discussion was a somber one, held in a beautiful space across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. With my past diplomatic work focused on international religious freedom, I welcomed the opportunity to learn about conditions on the ground.

The pastors shared firsthand accounts of Russia’s indiscriminate killing, religious persecution and the kidnapping of Ukrainian children. Ukraine, facing an existential threat from its much larger neighbor, needs the world to understand what is truly at stake. And especially Americans of faith.

Role of religion

Three years ago, Russia launched its brutal invasion of Ukraine, triggering a humanitarian catastrophe. Russian President Vladimir Putin invoked religion as part of his justification, believing their shared Orthodox Christian history lent credibility to his imperial ambitions.

But Ukrainians begged to differ. Their courage, combined with U.S. and European support, thus far has prevented Putin from erasing Ukraine from the map.

Ukraine, in many ways, is a religious success story compared to its Russian neighbor. No country is perfect, and antisemitism and Islamophobia exist, as they do in many parts of the world.

Many were concerned, including myself, about a religion law passed last fall banning the Russian Orthodox Church and organizations tied with nations at war with Ukraine. The law laid out a process for review, which has not resulted in widespread Russian Orthodox church closures as some feared. Different expressions of Orthodoxy coexist peacefully.

Protestant denominations, the Catholic Church and Judaism all have found a place in Ukraine’s social fabric. Islam is practiced freely. The parliament just established a national day of prayer.

Religious freedom

Compared to the former Soviet Union, Ukraine stands out as a model of religious pluralism. The Ukrainian government has protected space where faith can be expressed freely without fear of repression. Ukraine looks more like the United States in its approach to religious freedom than it does Russia.

In comparison, Russia remains lightyears behind, both with how it treats religious freedom domestically and in occupied Ukrainian territory. Russia’s abysmal domestic record on religious freedom demonstrates what is at stake should Putin prevail in Ukraine.

In a rare area of agreement between the first Trump administration and Biden administration, both have designated Russia as a religious persecutor in every year since 2020.

Others agree. The International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, a coalition of countries committed to religious freedom launched during the first Trump administration, issued a statement on the anniversary of the invasion outlining many of Russia’s transgressions in the occupied territories and targeting within Ukraine.

As one Ukrainian monitoring group reported, “Over 630 places of worship, including churches, mosques, synagogues, and houses of prayer, have been destroyed or damaged by Russian shelling.”

UNESCO, the United Nations agency tasked with preserving cultural and religious heritage, also has verified damage to 149 religious sites due to Russian attacks.

Three messages from Ukraine

The Ukrainian delegation carried three key messages for America’s faithful. First, they wanted to dispel Russian misinformation. Ukrainians enjoy full religious freedom.

Second, they sought to correct the misplaced concerns about persecution by the Ukrainian government. The real persecution is happening in Russian-occupied territories.

Finally, and most desperately, they begged for help in recovering the 20,000 Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia.

One evangelical leader put it bluntly: This war is not about land, which Russia has plenty of. This war is about identity. Russia wants to erase Ukrainian identity from existence. It is an existential struggle.

Several pastors drew an alarming comparison to ISIS. Like ISIS, Russia has kidnapped children, brainwashed them and forced them to fight against their own people. Like ISIS, Russia has developed religious justifications for genocide.

One pastor compared Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church calling for a “holy war” like ISIS calling for jihad. Kirill has provided religious justification for Russia’s war crimes, using faith as a weapon to subjugate and destroy.

Ideology instead of logic

A Baptist leader explained, while the West views the war through a logical lens, Putin sees it through an ideological—even spiritual—framework. In other words, the United States is trying to discern Putin’s motivations based on logic and reason.

However, they explained, Putin believes in the doctrine of Russkiy Mir—Russian World. Putin wants to revive the old Russian Empire, with the state and the Russian Orthodox Church working in tandem to oppress all other religious expressions. Nowhere is this clearer than in occupied eastern Ukraine.

The pastors shared how, in occupied Ukraine, religious leaders who refuse to bend to Russia face a grim fate. Many pastors have been “taken to the basement”—a chilling euphemism for torture and likely death. The delegation knew of at least 36 ministers from different denominations who had disappeared this way.

What’s next

Now, after Friday’s disastrous Oval Office meeting between Zelensky and Trump, what’s next?

Ukraine is not asking for American soldiers. It is not asking for America to fight its war. It simply asks for continued support in its struggle for survival. It hopes for a partnership to develop Ukraine’s natural resources and a stronger balance of support among the U.S. and European allies.

If negotiations with Russia do not include the return of occupied territories, the pastors implored that the United States insist on religious freedom in occupied areas and the return of the kidnapped children. The Trump administration maintaining Russia as a “country of particular concern” for severe religious freedom violations is also crucial.

As one Baptist leader put it Friday: “The United States has been blessed by God to be a light to the world. By helping Ukraine, you are being the United States. We are praying for a coalition of good to stand against the coalition of evil—Russia, China, Iran and others.”

Ukraine’s fight is an existential battle, but most Americans do not realize it. Ukraine is fighting for its survival, but also for the very values America holds dear—freedom, democracy and faith.

If the world fails Ukraine now, it will not be long before Putin and his allies set their sights on other targets.

When asked about trusting Putin, the pastors I met with were unequivocal. “All of history speaks against that stupidity,” one said. They urged America not to rely on promises from Putin.

For the Ukrainian delegation, the message was clear. This is not just a war of weapons. It is a war of survival, a war of identities and a war for the soul of a nation. Millions of Ukrainians are praying for U.S. support. America, they implored, must not turn away.

Knox Thames served in a special envoy role at the U.S. State Department during the Obama and Trump administrations, focusing on religious minorities in the Middle East and South and Central Asia. His book Ending Persecution published in September 2024. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author. This article originally appeared in The Dispatch and is republished by permission.

(RNS)—“You have come to us at a very low point,” said Pastor Piang, a refugee from Myanmar I met on a recent trip to Malaysia. “We always look to God for our hope, but we also look to the U.S., and maybe they don’t want us anymore.”

Piang and his family are among the thousands of Zomi, an ethnic minority displaced by persecution and violence due to their Christian faith.

Piang and his family have been living in Kuala Lumpur for 10 years, waiting with patience and hope to be accepted into the United States as refugees cleared by the U.S. State Department. Now they are afraid the U.S. government is going to abandon them.

They have genuine reasons to worry. The current White House has moved from what was announced initially as a suspension period to a full termination of both U.S. refugee resettlement and more than 10,000 humanitarian aid awards, lifesaving programs that have served vulnerable men, women and children from all over the world for more than four decades and through multiple Republican and Democratic administrations.

Another family, the Khups—a father, mother and their three children—had completed the final steps to receive approval to come to the United States, only to have their flights canceled after Inauguration Day. This precious Zomi Christian family already had given up their apartment and sold most of their possessions in preparation for their impending departure.

For more than a decade, our church, along with one of our nonprofit partners, has been blessed to work with Zomi Christian refugee families in Tulsa, Okla. They’ve come to us over the years through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, one of our country’s most effective means of providing resettlement and full legal status to some of the most imperiled people in the world.

Zomi in Oklahoma

Since the early 2000s, the Zomi have become by far the largest refugee community in Oklahoma, numbering about 20,000 people.

Those who make a habit of stigmatizing refugees never have met a Zomi Christian. Time and again, we’ve seen Oklahomans’ negative narratives about refugees evaporate when they get to know our Zomi neighbors.

Hard-working, consistent contributors to our community, many have opened restaurants or other businesses. Their children are thriving in our schools, they’ve started several churches and most now own their home. Many younger Zomis have degrees from our universities and work in education, health care or other important service industries.

Many Zomi have earned their U.S. citizenship and are so proud to be Oklahomans that we often hear the terms “ZO-klahoma” and “Okla-Zomis.”

Zomi Baptists

Baptists have a particular connection to Zomi Christians because our own missionaries brought the gospel to their people many generations ago. Judson Bible College, founded to educate Zomi students, is named after Adoniram Judson, one of the most famous 19th-century Baptist missionaries to the Burmese.

The Zomi Christians in Kuala Lumpur, like other refugees around the world, are adept at maximizing scarce resources to care for one another. Their highly organized, volunteer-run network of community, health and learning centers stretches UNHCR resources to meet the needs of as many families as possible. Zomi churches are the backbone of this system, and their openhandedness toward one another is unmatched.

Fallout of canceling aid

But it’s nearly impossible to be resourceful when all the resources suddenly disappear. The abrupt halt to both resettlement and humanitarian aid is what most troubles those we met at the UNHCR office. They believe, by withdrawing all its support immediately, rather than gradually so alternate plans may be explored, the United States is certain to trigger a global crisis.

After all, it was our haste in withdrawing troops from Afghanistan in 2021 that resulted in Kabul falling nearly immediately to the Taliban. In our work with Afghan families who escaped to the United States at that time, most leaving loved ones behind, we see the effects of that mistake to this day.

The fallout that will follow from ending resettlement and the sudden removal of humanitarian aid to refugees across the globe will impact many more people than we saw in Afghanistan, truly beyond estimation.

Christian conviction

It is my faith, not partisan politics, that drives my convictions on all these matters. I take seriously the Bible’s commands to show compassion and offer tangible help to the most vulnerable. I’ve seen firsthand the devastation that displacement brings among families in many parts of the world.

In Kuala Lumpur, I saw those hardships amplified by the added emotional burden weighing on the already heavy hearts of many families who still believe the United States can be a beacon of hope for them.

I’m a pastor, not a policymaker, but I believe our government should honor the promises made to the families in Malaysia and in many other parts of the world. I’m praying the White House will reverse these terminations immediately.

As a proud and thankful American, I believe we should continue to live out our historic values of caring for the oppressed, afflicted and abandoned, even when sacrifice is required.

I’m praying we do not forsake these families now in their greatest time of need. I pray we don’t close our hearts and doors to them or withdraw the aid keeping millions from dropping into utter destitution. I pray, too, the United States will continue to be the compassionate and generous country these families believe we are.

Eric Costanzo, lead pastor of South Tulsa Baptist Church in Tulsa, Okla., is executive director of Rising Village Foundation and co-author of Inalienable: How Marginalized Kingdom Voices Can Help Save the American Church. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

What percentage of your church’s worship service attendance typically attend an ongoing Bible study group? And what does group participation look like in an average church?

The data from the 2024 State of Groups study by Lifeway Research provides some interesting, and perhaps alarming, information.

Because ongoing Bible study groups are the environments in which people build long-term friendships with fellow congregants, study the Bible, pray and serve together, it’s important for group participation to be a solid percentage of worship attendance.

According to the State of Groups research, 67 percent of church leaders say half or less of adults in worship attend ongoing Bible study groups. For the average church with groups, 44 percent of worship attendees are also group participants. This could indicate some problems and opportunities in group ministries.

What’s a healthy percentage of group attendance relative to worship attendance? The gap should be somewhere around 30 percent. If a church’s gap is much lower than that, it could indicate the group ministry is “closed” rather than open to new people joining existing groups.

While some church leaders are proud of a small gap, the downside is the group ministry may not be as outwardly focused as it should be. It may be serving the congregation’s needs but not attracting new people. Churches with a gap of 25 percent to 30 percent of worship attendance have sufficient prospects to fuel group ministry.

What’s keeping adults from participating in ongoing groups?

There always will be a gap between worship and group attendance. But what causes adults to say “no” to weekly opportunities to connect to an adult group? There are at least six reasons adults are hesitant to make group life a priority.

1. Adults feel time-compressed.

Some adults believe they can get all they need spiritually and relationally by attending the worship service, so attending a group is not a tremendous need they feel. Some adults like to “do church in an hour,” so attending a worship service allows them to be efficient with their time. It’s a poor choice, though, to avoid attending a group.

2. Biblical hospitality may have been absent previously.

Most groups are not as friendly as they think they are. While they may be friendly toward one another, guests often experience something different. It’s not uncommon for a guest to enter a group for the first time and find it difficult to make conversation with group members.

It’s not that the group members are trying to be rude. They just aren’t sensitive to the awkwardness guests feel, so they carry on conversations with the people they know. This often leaves guests on the outside looking in. And when that happens, they vote with their feet and don’t make attending a group a priority.

3. Previous Bible study experiences were not engaging.

A pastor friend of mine in Texas once told me a visiting family refused to return to his church after their initial visit. They attended the church’s Bible study hour then the worship service. Because the adult group leader read verbatim from the leader guide, he didn’t draw people into active learning.

“It was so boring,” the husband and wife told the pastor.

The lack of engagement and excellence in the Bible study caused a family to decide to keep looking for a church home even before they experienced the church’s worship service.

4. They may not be familiar with their options.

Most churches list available Bible study groups on their website, and they likely have a brochure available at a guest information booth. These are certainly needed, but these are both passive ways to get information into the hands of guests.

In addition to these practices, it may be wise to send guests information about their group options via email or text messaging. Churches also may place a brochure about their group options in a gift bag, encouraging guests to take one home and choose a group to attend.

5. The pastor may not talk enough about group participation.

It could be your church isn’t saying enough about its discipleship pathway and the role groups play in it. There should be a regular cadence of invitations from the pulpit for guests—and chronically absent members—to be encouraged to get involved in an adult group.

If it’s important to the pastor, it’s important to the church. A pastoral emphasis on groups and encouragement to attend can go a long way in creating motion, moving people “out of rows and into circles.”

6. Invitations to attend a group aren’t being extended.

It’s one thing to extend an invitation from the pulpit to attend groups, and it’s something else entirely when congregants take ownership and do the inviting. The number one reason people attend a Bible study group is because of the invitation of a group leader or a member of the group.

Mind the gap

The British have an expression: “Mind the gap.” It’s announced at train stations throughout the United Kingdom. This refers to the gap between the train and the platform. They don’t want people’s heels getting caught in the gap, which would cause people to fall, twist an ankle or possibly do a faceplant.

Minding the gap is something churches of all sizes would benefit from—minding the gap between worship and group attendance.

With a few minor changes, churches can close the gap by calling attention to the church’s group ministry, explaining group options, encouraging attendance and making easy on-ramps for guests.

Ken Braddy is Lifeway’s director of Sunday school and regularly blogs at kenbraddy.com. This article first appeared on LifewayResearch.com and was republished by permission.

Twice a week, I work at a second office. The early, before-rush-hour drive is relaxing. There are only a few vehicles on the road.

I usually drive in the slower lane so I can think a little. I’ve had a lot of good conversations with myself and God on these early morning drives.

Sometimes, my mind will default to thinking about what I just read in the news that morning, which usually is pretty negative. So, in order to keep my early morning thoughts open and positive, I have learned to avoid looking at the news before I leave for the office.

I have done some of my best thinking on these morning rides to work, similar to what others have said about getting their best ideas while in the shower, on the toilet or taking a walk.

Light in the darkness

The other day while I was driving, I began to think about faith. What is faith? Why faith? Some people say they have faith in a business venture but then proceed to fail.

The Bible speaks of walking by faith, not by sight. Some people say they have faith in a God of love, but live fairly selfish, self-centered lives.

Anyway, I was thinking like this while driving to work.

There were ominous black clouds overhead, and it looked like a storm was coming my way. I already could see rain pouring down out over the ocean.

While driving under this gathering gloomy darkness, a tiny pinhole opened in the thick black clouds, and a slender sunbeam pierced through the tiny hole and onto the dark ocean surface below. A small circle of ocean instantly lit up and sparkled.

That sunbeam was just gorgeous piercing the darkness, and the tiny spot of glistening ocean made me forget about the approaching storm and the rest of the ocean that lay in darkness.

I was so taken and captivated by the splendor of the tiny circle of light, I forgot about the darkness. The darkness was still there, but it didn’t affect my outlook anymore, because I was drawn to that sunbeam, that scintillating circle of light.

The light of the world

I couldn’t help but see this as a metaphor for the times we live in.

There is no end of the darkness, selfishness, gloom and doom in the news, in our world and in our lives.

But there is also that gorgeous, wonderful, enthralling beam and circle of light in Jesus—that gorgeous beam of beauty, kindness, love, tenderness and selflessness that pierces the darkness and changes the focus of our thinking and our lives.

So, although I didn’t finish the conversation with myself about faith, that momentary incident seemed like a partial answer: Focus on the good and positive, no matter how dark the world around us is. Focus on the beams of good and the acts of kindness, love and hope that pierce our darkness. Think on these things.

“Finally, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8).

Robert Ritzenhein, after retiring from full-time missionary service, lives in Japan, organizing Christian programs for area rest homes, and is the yearly Santa at his city’s hospitals. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

For many people around the world, Christmas is the traditional time of giving to spouses, children and others we care about.

Christmas is also a time to give to the Bob Cratchits and Tiny Tims among us, making sure those going through tough financial times receive gifts and plenty of food for holiday meals, plus presents for the kids.

For Christians, all year—not just Christmas—is the time for giving.

For us, life on this earth is all about giving, because that’s what love does; it gives.

Jesus was a giver. It’s his character and nature, and when we step into a giving spirit, without thought of receiving, we step into God’s nature.

Giving releases God to work. John 3:16 and 1 John 3:16 are God’s bookend giving verses for Christian life.

To give is Christ

So many people these days focus primarily on themselves. To most people, Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” makes all the sense in the world. It’s the way of human nature, especially in uncertain and difficult times, when people tend to close ranks and circle the wagons around their immediate families, letting those outside the circle fend for themselves.

But it should not be so with us.

“Give and it shall be given to you” (Luke 6:38). Was that written only for times of plenty? Was God’s word given to us to follow only when the waters are calm and our lives’ little boats can glide effortlessly with a gentle breeze in the morning sun?

Jesus’ words were given as a guide through the good times as well as the bad.

The nature of Jesus is the opposite of our natural self-centered inclinations. “But seek first the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 6:33) and Christ’s nature first—which is always giving, always reaching out, always ready to save, serve and lift those who have been trodden under foot by the racing world around them.

Freely give

Whether we are well off financially or barely squeaking by, we all have something to give. Everything God gives us, every talent we possess was given to each of us to share, give and hand out freely. “Freely you have received; freely give” (Matthew 10:8).

Some say, “When I have a million dollars, then I’ll share and give,” but they could start giving what they have right now, even if it’s just a tiny bit.

To God, there is no difference between the little we have and won’t share, and the people who sit upon their piles of wealth and don’t share. The same rule applies to the poor as well as the rich.

And giving isn’t just about money or material things. It applies to any talent God has given us. Sowing seeds of love and words of encouragement don’t cost anything, but they can change a life, face someone to the positive light and give them hope.

Give as Jesus gave

Jesus gave us this key: “Do unto others as you want them to do unto you” (Matthew 7:12).

What does someone need? God is the giver, but we are his delivery staff, and he trusts us to deliver his love and supply to those in need. He came not to judge the world, but to save it (John 3:16-17). He came to give. The heart of God is a giving heart.

Let’s give from what we have right now, today. Let’s not wait until we have more, but let’s give from what we have today. Let’s give out our little loaves and fish today, and they will multiply.

Christmas is a wonderful time for giving, but so is every day of our lives. For true believers in Jesus, every day is Christmas. Every day we can sing, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come.” Every day we can share the good news, by living as Jesus lived, loving as Jesus loved and giving as Jesus gave.

“The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.”
–Oscar Wilde

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, feed just one.”
–Mother Teresa

Robert Ritzenhein, after retiring from full-time missionary service, lives in Japan, organizing Christian programs for area rest homes, and is the yearly Santa at his city’s hospitals. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

As we light the fourth candle of Advent, we are reminded of the joy Christ brings—not a joy rooted in our circumstances, but in the unshakable truth that God is with us, Emmanuel.

In the Holy Land, where the weight of occupation and suffering presses on us daily, joy often can feel distant. Yet, Advent teaches us true joy is not the absence of hardship, but the presence of Christ—our hope and light—even in our worst times and moods.

Anchored joy

This joy is anchored in God’s promise. When the angel declared to the shepherds, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10), it was not a promise of a magical life without suffering, but a declaration the Savior had come to dwell among us.

Christ brought light into our darkness. This joy does not erase our pain, but transforms it—filling our suffering with purpose and hope as we hold fast to Christ’s presence in every trial.

Resistant joy

In Palestine, joy is not merely an emotion; it is an act of resistance. It is woven into the fabric of our existence, even amid the oppression we face.

It shines in the laughter of children in Gaza and Bethlehem, who play despite the heavy burdens of conflict. It lives in communities that, even in scarcity, share their last piece of bread.

These acts of joy are not born out of nothing, but from defiance—a bold declaration the light of Christ never will be extinguished, no matter how dark the world becomes.

Generous joy

One of the most powerful symbols of joy in our land is St. Nicholas, the fourth-century bishop whose legacy is deeply cherished in Beit Jala, a Palestinian Christian town near Bethlehem.

St. Nicholas (Mar Nicola) is the town’s patron saint—a protector, miracle worker and living example of sacrificial love. His feast day is celebrated with prayers, processions and public festivities, honoring him not as a myth, but as a real man whose life of generosity brought joy, hope and healing to countless people.

The St. Nicholas Church in Beit Jala, built over the cave where he lived and prayed, stands as a testament to his legacy of love, kindness and generosity, drawing believers from around the world. This legacy endures in the figure of Santa Claus, whose spirit is rooted in St. Nicholas’ life of sacrificial giving.

While commercialized over time, Santa’s Christian values of kindness, generosity and selflessness continue to inspire and guide us.

Choose joy

As we reflect on the joy Christ brings this Advent, we are reminded joy is not simply an emotion, it is a choice. True joy is not found in the absence of suffering or in receiving, but in choosing faith over fear, in giving and in trusting God’s presence is more than enough.

Even in our deepest pain, we can choose joy, knowing Christ is with us and never will leave us.

This joy also is rooted in hope. As we await Christ’s return, we are filled with joy not only for his first coming, but also for the fullness of his promise—a future where suffering, pain and tears will be no more. Until that day comes, we live in the joy of knowing Christ is with us now and will return to make all things new.

Prayer of joy

Lord, we thank you for the joy that flows from knowing you are with us. Help us to find joy even in our struggles and to trust you are working all things together for our good. May your joy fill our hearts and overflow into the lives of those around us, bringing hope and light to a dark world.

We pray for our brothers and sisters in Jerusalem, the United States, Lebanon, Armenia, Ukraine, Syria, Sudan and all who suffer. Strengthen us to be a light in the world. We pray for the coming of your kingdom, where joy, peace and justice reign. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Christ is born! Let us glorify him!

*******

Jack Nassar is a Christian in Ramallah, Palestine, who strives to foster positive change in the public, private, nonprofit and academic realms. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

As we light the third candle of Advent, we are reminded of God’s love—a love that is unconditional, boundless and unchanging.

For Palestinian Christians, this love sustains us through the daily struggles of living in a land marked by occupation, violence, apartheid and division. Amid the wounds of our land and the suffering of our people, God’s love serves as our anchor, offering a deeper hope in the face of despair.

This love is not just for those who live in Palestine, but for anyone whose heart is broken—whether by fractured relationships, financial struggles, personal pain or the loss of a loved one. It is a love that heals and renews.

Saving love

The story of Christ’s birth is the story of love. In his infinite love, God chose to enter our world not as a king in a palace, but as a helpless child, born to a poor family in a humble town under occupation.

His coming was not a display of power, but an act of self-giving love, one that would ultimately lead him to the cross. Jesus’ love for us was not abstract. It was real, tangible and sacrificial. It was a love that endured suffering and death so the world might be saved.

Active love

For us, love is not just an emotion; it is an action. Love is shown in the daily decisions we make to care for our neighbors, support the suffering and offer compassion in the face of adversity.

In Palestine, love is found in small, sacrificial moments: the hand extended to a stranger, the forgiveness offered to those who have wronged us, and the quiet sacrifices made for others.

It is seen in Gaza, where widows continue to care for their children despite the danger, in churches that remain open for worship despite the ongoing genocide, and in communities that hold one another up when all hope seems lost.

Love is also seen in families who choose forgiveness over division and in individuals who hold on to hope amid overwhelming hardship.

Unified love

For the past few decades, Palestinian Christians from all denominations across the Holy Land—except in a few places like Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth—have united in celebrating Christmas on Dec. 25, according to the Gregorian calendar, while Oriental and Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7 and Easter according to the Julian (Eastern) calendar.

Despite denominational differences, this shared practice sends a powerful message of unity to our religious leaders, the global church and to the world. It reminds us that, as Christians, we are stronger together.

Our unity is not merely a social bond, but a unified witness to the love of Jesus. What unites us in Christ is far greater than what divides us. Let us pray and work for true global Christian unity.

Choose love

Love also is seen in how we honor our faith, heritage and land. We love our homeland not because it is perfect, but because it is where God has placed us.

Our land, despite its suffering, is where we continue to find God’s presence. We hold on to the hope that one day, God will bring peace and justice, and that his love will heal the wounds inflicted by years of conflict, hatred and occupation.

As we reflect on Christ’s love for us this Advent, we are called to share that love with others. Love is not just a feeling; it is a choice. It is a decision to put the needs of others before our own, to reach out to those who are suffering and to stand with the oppressed.

As we await the birth of Christ, let us pray for the strength to love as he loved—sacrificially, generously and without condition.

Prayer of love

Lord, we thank you for your constant, unchanging love. Help us to love others as you have loved us, especially those who are difficult to love. May your love fill our hearts and overflow into our actions, bringing healing and reconciliation to our broken hearts and world.

We pray for the people of Jerusalem, the United States, Ukraine, Syria, Lebanon, Armenia and for all who suffer. We lift up families torn apart by conflict, those facing financial hardship and all who long for healing.

May your love bring peace, justice and restoration to our world. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Christ is born! Let us glorify him!

*******

Jack Nassar is a Christian in Ramallah, Palestine, who strives to foster positive change in the public, private, nonprofit and academic realms. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.