My nephews are from Kenya. They were the first to teach me about the Maasai warriors. For years I knew them for their prolific jumping abilities, a skill that naturally enamored my young nephews. So I was instantly curious when they came up at a recent professional training I attended.

“Kasserian Ingera” is the traditional greeting Maasai warriors exchange with each other. It means, “And how are the children?” The expected reply from a fellow tribal leader is, “All the children are well.” It is an expression of the high value the Maasai place on children. The wellbeing of all the children is used as an indicator to evaluate the wellbeing of their society as a whole. If a leader cannot reply that all the children are well, it is viewed as a crisis requiring a response of the warriors.

God is often depicted as a warrior in Scripture. In the closing pages of the New Testament we see Jesus as a victorious warrior. It’s a metaphor I sometimes struggle with, given the violence of war, and the culture war mentality of the evangelicalism I was raised in. There is no shortage of examples of war done in ungodly ways.

As image bearers, I think the Maasai reflect beautifully the warrior heart of God. Jesus said, “See to it that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.”(Matt. 18:10) I can imagine the members of the Trinity greeting each other with Kasserian Ingera. Because we know that when Jesus goes to war, it is with the purpose of establishing a new heavens and a new earth where all is well for everyone. Not just for the rich and powerful, but equally for the smallest and most vulnerable. And that hope helps me sleep better at night.