Read Time: 4 min 46 sec | Reading Level: 7th Grade

WORLD NEWS

Olive Branch

Ukraine is ready to accept a ceasefire with Russia.

The United States proposed the 30-day truce during its meeting with a team from Ukraine in Saudi Arabia this week. The complete ceasefire would cover troops on the land, in the sky, and on the Black Sea. 

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the offer aims “to stop the shooting and start talking,” and “the ball is now in Russia’s court.” Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy said they "consider it positive," and now "it is up to the United States" to convince Russia to agree. 

While the world waits to see if Russia will take the olive branch, the friendship between the U.S. and its ally Ukraine seems to be on stronger footing. Uncle Sam paused sharing military aid and intel with Ukraine last week, saying they needed assurance that it was serious about peace. Yesterday, the Trump Administration announced that sharing is back on.

For now, the battle rages on. Before dawn on Tuesday, Ukraine launched its largest long-range drone attack of the war. The strike killed three and injured at least 18 others near Moscow. Meanwhile, Russian forces are retaking ground in Kursk, the region invaded by Ukraine in August.

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CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
War is heavy and ugly, reminding us of our world’s need for restoration. Jesus came to bear the burden of sin, lighten our load, and make the world new. 

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 
Matthew 11:28–30 (CSB) (read full passage)

What gospel lesson can be taught through this story?
Christians are called to be peacemakers—not just in big global conflicts but in our hearts, homes, schools, and workplaces—and there is always a cost to peace.

Ukraine and Russia will each have to make big compromises, giving up things they really want to keep in order to get something better: security and safety for their people. 

Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice to bring us peace with God: his life. Paul writes, “God was pleased to… reconcile everything to himself… by making peace through [Jesus’s] blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds as expressed in your evil actions. But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through his death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before him” (Colossians 1:19–22 CSB). God gave his own Son to make peace. What are you willing to humbly give in order to bring peace into your relationships?

What might my kids misunderstand about this story?
Worldly peace is temporary. Jesus’s peace is forever.

We’re praying for peace in Eastern Europe, and our prayers are powerful and effective (James 5:16). But even as we work and pray for peace on this side of heaven, we know that it will always be temporary. A new conflict could (and probably will) erupt in the next generation over something else, and negotiators will be back to the drawing board to find a new olive branch.

That's why Jesus's victory over sin and his promise to come again is such good news. He's bringing a security that can't be undone: no more chaos or conflict; no more death, grief, crying, or pain; and no more threats from evil people. All nations will celebrate God’s glory. God will live with us, and we’ll be his forever (Revelation 21). This hope motivates us to keep doing the work of peacemaking as we wait.

• Discuss: Are there any relationships in which you could extend an olive branch—a gesture of peace, however small?

• Memorize Romans 5:1, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (CSB).

• Pray for peace in Eastern Europe: “Almighty God, from whom all thoughts of truth and peace proceed: Kindle, we pray, in the hearts of all people the true love of peace, and guide with your pure and peaceable wisdom those who take counsel for the nations of the earth; that in tranquility your kingdom may go forward, till the earth is filled with the knowledge of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” Book of Common Prayer, page 654

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