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Seeking The Shalom of the City
April
29, 2001
by
Mark Mullins
This reflection focuses on material based on the principles found in
the Experiencing God material by Henry Blackaby and Claude King. This material can be found in several
forms, which you can find at online stores like http://www.amazon.com
and
http://www.christianbookdistributors.com.
I highly recommend that you study this material if you have not
already. It will be life-changing for you. If you are
familiar with the material, enjoy it anew these next few weeks. My
essays leading up to these three Sundays will hopefully dovetail with
the principles we will be looking at on Sunday mornings. I still
would enjoy hearing your feedback about whether my essays have been
helpful, and what I could do to make them better.
* * *
* *
One major principle in Experiencing God is that rather than
planning what to do, then asking God to join that work--we should
instead look around us for work that God is already doing, and join Him
in His work. This essay elaborates on that important theme.
In February, I had the privilege of attending a short presentation by
Dr. Robert Linthicum, who currently does city-wide ministry in the Los
Angeles area. His presentation was entitled "Seeking the
Shalom of the City." These principles come from his
1991 book City of God, City of Satan: A Biblical Theology of the
Urban Church.
His presentation was essentially a sermon on Jeremiah 29, a passage
in which the prophet sends a letter to the captives in Babylon. At
this time, the Babylonians are in the process of conquering Judah and
taking its people into captivity. The people are transported to
Babylon in several groups. Jeremiah is still in Judah, waiting to
be transported; and he is writing a letter to those already in Babylon.
In the letter, the Lord through Jeremiah tells the people that they will
be in captivity for 70 years (v. 10). This means that the
adults to whom he is writing will die in captivity. It means that
their children will most likely die in captivity. It will be their
grandchildren and great-grandchildren who will come back to the promised
land to re-build their nation.
This news must have been a terrible blow to the people. They had
struggled horribly for years, only to conquered and enslaved. The
book of Lamentations captures the utter despair that the people of God
felt at that time. It describes the Babylonian approach to
warfare--surrounding a city and camping outside until the people inside
begin to starve.
What are the people to do in response to this circumstance? God
says they are to build houses, plant gardens, get married, and have
children (vv. 5-6). In other words, they are to carry out a
normal, healthy life in this place to which they did not choose
to move. But they are to do one additional thing:
"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" (v. 7).
The word translated "welfare" is the well-known Hebrew word shalom,
which is often translated "peace"--but that's a rather
simplistic translation. Basically, shalom is a word that
describes abundance and wellness in every aspect of existence--physical,
emotional, spiritual. When Jews and Christians greet one another
with a hearty "shalom," they are wishing the most
abundant life possible.
And God tells these captives to seek the shalom of their new
city, their enemies' city, the home of those who placed them under siege
for over two years and then carried them into slavery. They are to
pray to their God for the shalom of Babylon--their enemy.
Why? Because in the city's shalom will come their shalom.
They will not know a good life unless their new hometown knows a good
life.
Why are you in Spokane? Perhaps you were born here. Perhaps
you were transferred here. Perhaps you chose to move here.
You may live here for the rest of your life, or you may move away--weeks
or months or years from now.
Whatever the case, for this moment in time, the Lord has placed us all
in Spokane. As long as we are here, our job is to seek the shalom
of our city. We should be praying for our city, its political
leaders, its companies, its small businesses, its wealthy people, its
poor people, its churches, its Christians and Jews and Muslims and
Hindus and secularists, its methamphetamine producers, its
sadomasochists. We should live as good citizens, and we should be
active in making Spokane a better place for everyone. We should be
seeking the shalom of Spokane, for from Spokane's shalom
will come our shalom.
As you meditate this week on God's work in your life, remember to pray
for the people of greater Spokane and the people of your
neighborhood--even the ones you don't know.
Shalom!
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If you want to pray for Spokane's shalom in a practical way,
join the Spokane Prayer Initiative this Saturday morning, April 21.
Teams of prayer warriors will be going to every neighborhood in Spokane
to blanket our city with prayer. I am coordinating the team for
the Corbin Park neighborhood. Send me an email if you would like
more information, or watch your email box for more information in the
next few days.
Shalom! |
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