Shalom Without Conditions
OPENING PRAYER:
Generous God, you gave me grace I did not earn and could never repay. Show me where I have made my love conditional, and teach me to give the way you give. Amen.
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 29:7 (NIV)
Babylon had conquered Jerusalem, destroyed homes, and taken lives. God’s command to seek its good would have been startling, even offensive, to the exiles who first heard it.
REFLECT:
The words “peace and prosperity” in this verse translate the Hebrew word shalom. Christian described shalom as a wholeness the world cannot give: a God-given peace and flourishing. And God asked his people to take the very shalom he had given them and pour it into the city that had hurt them.
Christian named how often we put barriers in the way of that kind of love. I will extend grace if you do this. I will serve the school when they change that policy. I will help if it brings people to our church. But that is not the way of the gospel. The gospel gives without asking anything back. Jesus did not build hurdles that people had to clear before they could come to him. He kept moving toward people who needed him, and through his presence, love, and grace, the good news spread.
Seeking the shalom of our schools might look like a bag of candy for a trunk or treat, less than an hour a week as a reading buddy, a few hours painting faces at a fall festival, or meeting a family’s need through CarePortal. None of it requires everyone to agree with us first. It only requires us to give what God has already given us.
APPLY:
Is there a condition you have placed on your love for your community, a school, or a particular group of people? Name it honestly before God and release it. Then take one practical step to seek the good of a school near you, with no strings attached.
I WILL STATEMENT:
I will pray for one school by name and encourage one person in it this week.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Jesus, you loved me before I changed and gave yourself without conditions. Tear down the walls I have built around my generosity. Make me a carrier of your shalom to every place you send me. Amen.
PRAYER REQUEST:
Share your prayer request and pray for others.