You Have Failed This City

I was watching Arrow, and Oliver said his classic line of "You have failed this city." I've heard it many times over, but this time it made me stop and think. I would never want to hear those words said to me. I don't want to fail my city, I don't want to fail the people in the place God has put me in this season.

Thinking about how I could / could not fail my city brought to mind what God says in Jeremiah 29:

“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 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.”

I believe not failing this city can be done in both big and small ways. In the day-to-day it involves being kind to everyone, speaking the truth, obeying the laws of our land, doing our jobs well, caring for the widows and orphans, feeding the hungry, giving to those in need, sharing the gospel and basically just living our normal lives out like Jesus.

On a bigger scale, something like City Story who are, to quote their website: a passionate group of Christian individuals whose focus is to build networks and serve our city and see her grow into a hub of excellence by connecting networks and individuals in different spheres of life and empowering them to bring about a powerful collaboration of giftings and passions that spark remarkable change in the city. Through intentional prayer, online platforms and supportive engagements we facilitate collaboration across the spheres.

City Story also acts as a platform for stories of hope and testimonies to create awareness and build faith for our city. Check out their website here. On it you can browse through an online booklet showing some incredible NGO's and the work they are doing in the eThekweni Municipality. I think it's a great example of Jeremiah 29 being lived out and I can't wait to see what unfolds into the months and years ahead.