Seek the Welfare of the City Where I Have Sent You

This morning I was reading Jeremiah 29 in the Daily Office and was struck by these words of God to the people who were taken from Jerusalem to exile in Babylon:

"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)

There are two things that jump out to me:

1. God sent people into exile? I always thought it was the evil Nebuchadnezzar. God has his redemptive hand on things we don't like and that in fact seem pretty terrible.

2. In that, God cares about the particular... the particularities of our life. He told his people to "plant gardens and eat what they produce." A God who cares that much about settling into a local place must really care about our individual lives.

And so tonight when Tom and I got to meet the savings and loan group Las Bendecidas ("The Blessed") in a particular brick and blue tarp church, in a particular neighborhood, in a particular valley, with Quechua women who speak a particular language and were learning how to cook a typical food here in Bolivia (empanadas! so tasty!!), I felt like God must be pleased. These women are not in exile, of course, but they are seeking the welfare of their communities and families by taking the chance to save together and trust one another as each person takes the pot of money collected each week.

Each of the eight women in the group is saving 10 bolivianos ($1.43) per week, giving one woman the chance to take home $11.44 to invest. As a group, we prayed for Victoria, who was receiving her $11.43, for wisdom in how to use her talents to glorify God and help her family.

How have you invested your dollars today? Have you used your talents to seek the welfare of your city and cities like Tarija? Are you praying on anyone else's behalf?

A good Lenten question as we move into Holy Week.

~ Hannah