Jeremiah 29:4-7 (NIVUK)
4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 ‘Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.’
There are those who say that as Christians we are citizens of God’s kingdom as opposed to any earthly nation, so we should keep ourselves separate and not get involved in politics. The Bible resists this and calls us instead to be salt and light in our communities (Matthew 5:13-16). Another example can be found in Jeremiah. Here God’s people are in exile, living away from the Promised Land in the home of their Babylonian occupiers. You might expect them to think that they would actively not contribute to the nation, it isn’t theirs after all and they hope one day to return home. God, however, calls them to put down roots, to seek the country’s prosperity, and even pray for it.
Help us Father to serve our local community, to develop relationships within in, and to seek its success.
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