Monday,, October 10 | the welfare of the city
Read Jeremiah 29:4-7
“Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you.” These verses in Jeremiah are spoken to a people in exile. A people who are far from home, in Babylon, longing to return to the Holy City of Jerusalem.
You might think God would tell them to try and escape, to do anything possible to get back to Jerusalem. Instead, God tells the people to settle in, and get comfortable. Work for the good of the city where they are in exile. God had a purpose for them in their exile, and He didn’t want them to miss it by trying to escape back to their home country.
It's the same with us. Like the Israelites in Babylon, in some ways, we are in exile. We’re in a world that is not our home, longing for the day when we can return to the ultimate Shalom of New Heavens and a New Earth (2 Peter 3:13).
But God has a purpose in our time here. And He doesn’t want us to miss it by just sitting around longing for Heaven. God put us right where we are to seek the welfare of the city where we live.
This week, we’ll talk about our third strategy for working with God on His mission to restore shalom: Give freely in SERVICE. Service is how we work toward the flourishing of all creation.
So how might we seek the welfare of Greater Lowell? There are ways in which we’re doing that already, through our local partnerships with The Wish Project, Place of Promise, and IINE. Some of us work with other organizations too!
Another important part of seeking the welfare of our city is to know what needs exist in our community! Today, check out the Community Teamwork website (commteam.org). Check out the town summaries to learn more about the needs of our community. (Click “Our Organization” then “Annual Reports and Documents”)