Thursday, 5/7 | Mission Living

Jeremiah 29:4-7 | Missional Living

4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. 

If you are a Christian, then you are a missionary. That is, wherever you are you have been sent by God to be there whether it’s the job that you work or like many in this season, your neighborhood. I know that may not sound exciting, but it should be fruitful. 

In today’s passage, God speaks to His people, who are in exile in Babylon, through Jeremiah by telling them that He has sent them into exile. In other words, God knows they do not want to be there, but they have been sent and He has not forsaken them. And because we believe that God is sovereign and nothing is outside of His control and knowledge, the season and place we all find ourselves in is where we have been sent. 

So, how do we encourage missional living in a time of social distancing? When you read verses 5-7, God through Jeremiah walks through a couple of things concerning the investment of the city: buying houses, eating local, get married and have kids, and seek the welfare of the city. In a nutshell, what does this mean for the Christian today? 

It means faithful presence. In a season of social distancing, what does it look like for you to be faithfully present in your neighborhood? Maybe it’s striking a conversation with your neighbor to check in on them or offering to buy groceries for them. Maybe it means ordering take-out once a week from your favorite local restaurant. This isn’t a missional strategy or the push for further effort. This is simply a call to be faithfully present where God has sent you.