thinking bible.

You asked

how can one contribute to the peace of a community where one feels like an outsider or temporary resident?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Jeremiah 29:7

Seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to Yahweh for it; for in its peace you will have peace.

The prophet Jeremiah wrote this letter to Jewish exiles who had been forcibly removed from their homeland and resettled in Babylon. It's part of a larger message about enduring their captivity and understanding God's plans amidst difficult circumstances, encouraging them to invest in their new, foreign home.

What does it mean to "seek the peace" of a community where one doesn't fully belong, and how might that seeking impact your own sense of peace?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

  • Romans 12:18

    Advises living peaceably with everyone, to the extent it depends on you.

  • 1 Peter 2:11-12

    Encourages living honorably among non-believers as 'foreigners and exiles' so they might see good deeds.

  • Matthew 5:9

    Blesses those who make peace, calling them children of God.

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