For YOUR city

Seek the welfare of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for when it has prosperity, you will prosper.- Jeremiah 29:7

Jeremiah 29 contains the letter that Jeremiah wrote to the Judean exiles in Babylon, who had been taken there in 597 BC. The letter was a prophecy that the Lord told him to proclaim to the exiles. The letter contains several commands for the exiles in Babylon. The exiles are commanded to build houses, plant gardens, marry, have children, seek the welfare of the city, and pray to the Lord on its behalf. The Lord's commands are shocking because Israel has been taken from Israel to pagan Babylon. The reader would expect Jeremiah to command the exiles to avoid the city all together. The reader expects Jeremiah to encourage them to ONLY meet together, to form their own education system, form their own bookstores and entertainment industry, hold harvest festivals in their synagogue parking lots, and avoid any appearance of fun. Jeremiah, though, doesn't command these things instead he commands the exiles to seek Babylon's welfare. The exiles are to seek the welfare of the city by becoming involved in daily life, interacting with pagan Babylon, inter-marrying, having children, and changing the city.

If the exiles to pagan Babylon were commanded to seek the welfare of their city, how much more, should this command apply to us. As followers of Christ we mustn't shrink away from our cities but instead must seek their welfare. Our cities should be different because of Christians living there. As Christians we must seek our cities welfare by involving ourselves in social action. We must look around and notice the problems in our city and get involved. We should seek the welfare of our cities by standing against abortion and homosexual marriage, standing for educational and prison reform, religious freedom, and women's rights. We should assist people in getting out of poverty, feeding the homeless, tutoring struggling children, and creation care. We need to provide clean water, malaria and AIDS prevention, sexual education and care for orphans and widows... The list of ways to seek the welfare of our cities is endless. As Christians we MUST stop spending hours upon hours in "holy huddles" cut off from our cities, instead, we must be involved in serving, sacrificing and seeking the welfare of our cities.

In conclusion, the exiles were commanded by God to seek the welfare of pagan Babylon and as followers of Christ we are also commanded by our Lord to seek the welfare of our cities. Our cities should be different because of Christians. We must become involved in serving our cities!