“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. . . . 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.” ( Jeremiah 29:4 4 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all the captivity, whom I have caused to be carried away captive from Jerusalem unto Babylon: –5, 7)

If that was true for God’s exiles in Babylon, it would seem to be even more true for Christian exiles in this very “Babylon-like” world. What, then, shall we do?

We should do the ordinary things that need to be done: build houses; live in them; plant gardens. This does not contaminate you if you do it all for the real King and not just for eye service as men-pleasers.

Seek the welfare of the place where God has sent you. Think of yourself as sent there by God for his glory. Because you are.

Pray to the Lord on behalf of your city. Ask for great and good things to happen for the city. Ask that they happen by God’s power and for his glory. Never lose sight of the ultimate good that the city needs a thousand times more than it needs material prosperity. Christians care about all suffering — especially eternal suffering. That’s the greatest danger every city faces.

But neither God nor his people are indifferent to the health and safety and prosperity and freedom of the city. We all want these things, and Jesus said, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” ( Matthew 22:39 39 And a second like `unto it' is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. ). In fact, the Lord says in Jeremiah that loving your city is a way of loving yourself: “In its welfare you will find your welfare.”

This does not mean we give up our exile orientation. Peter says that Christians are “sojourners and exiles” ( 1 Peter 2:11 11 Beloved, I beseech you as sojourners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lust, which war against the soul; ) and Paul says “our citizenship is in heaven” ( Philippians 3:20 20 For our citizenship is in heaven; whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: ). In fact, we will do most good for this world by keeping a steadfast freedom from its beguiling attractions. We will serve our city best by getting our values from “the city that is to come” ( Hebrews 13:14 14 For we have not here an abiding city, but we seek after `the city' which is to come. ). We will do our city most good by calling as many of its citizens as we can to be citizens of “the Jerusalem above” ( Galatians 4:26 26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother. ).

So, let’s live — let’s do so much good ( 1 Peter 2:12 12 having your behavior seemly among the Gentiles; that, wherein they speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works, which they behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. ) — that the natives will want to meet our King.