This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Jeremiah 29:4-7
“To desire more than we possess is a timeless human struggle. Whether a desire to possess someone else’s good looks, a house in the best neighborhood…humans swing with the pendulum from desire to contentment. We know this about ourselves. And yet, here we find ourselves in the twenty-first century with the same old longings and leanings. At our fingertips are myriad methods for practicing gratitude, mindfulness, and apps that coach us to embrace the moment. Whether modern or ancient, we humans lose our focus…
Our proclivity to become anxious and wander from a centered place is at the heart of Jeremiah’s words: “Plant gardens and eat what they produce…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.” When we are focused on the gifts of the present moment directly before us, everything changes. Hidden homes become gathering places for kingdom-style banquets. The ordinary becomes a miracle. And life becomes life in the fullness of God.”
Elizabeth Mangham Lott in “Gifts of the Present” in Giving: Growing Joyful Stewards in Your Congregation, vol. 19 (Richmond: ESC, 2017) 9.
We all wrestle with desire and contentment. Notice the solution. Enjoy each day as a gift from God in community. Plant gardens, eat produce. Live, give, serve, and love people where God plants you. When we get off track and wander from a centered place of gratitude, we get into trouble. Is it time to pause, make a list of God’s gifts, and give thanks as a basis for living a more generous life?
Sometimes when we get too off track as a group, we need to make drastic collective changes. In church history, this appears as a call for reformation. Today I am preaching at the 6:10 am service at Sarang Church, then have an important CCFK meeting, then Kurios International is hosting a Reformation Forum as 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.
My brother and I are two of the five forum speakers. As Martin Luther was a university professor, my brother, Dr. David Hoag, President of Warner University, will share five ways universities shape life in the church and society. My talk relates to the Reformation and money. Reply if you’d like a copy of my remarks in PDF form. And please pray for us, as it will be a full day. Thank you.