Deal in hope, not fear

From geopolitical instability to deep personal loss, today’s uncertainty demands more than silence or retreat. Malcolm Duncan explores how Christians can offer a faithful, active response. 

Uncertainty seems to be surrounding the world. Oil prices have spiked and dropped back over the last few months in response to the wars between the US/Israel and Iran and between Russia and Ukraine.

The blockading of the Straits of Hormuz by Iran and the retaliatory actions of the US against Iranian ports sent oil prices in dizzying spirals – both upwards and downwards.

In addition to the immediate impact these situations have had on heating and energy bills, the economic uncertainty is sure to send the global economy into a series of shocks that could last for decades.

The impact on business, commerce and energy is tiny compared with the impact of these conflicts on communities and families.

Grieving parents sit at tables with empty chairs where their children once sat.

The soil of the Middle East and of Eastern Europe is soaked with the blood of lives that have been lost, and saturated with the tears that have been shed by those left behind.

The geopolitical impact of all of this on the nations of the world is hard to overestimate.

As national governments and continental agencies scurry to increase defence spending, and national leaders position themselves in new coalitions and agreements, the world feels less secure that it has for decades, ‒ perhaps since the end of the Second World War.

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