Every year, the CrossPoint staff gathers in Salina to retreat, eat great food, cross-pollinate, and encourage one another. But this year was different. While many of those elements were still intact, instead of retreating, we spent our time looking to the future.
Most of us default to a way of life that lives in the past, replaying our greatest hits or our most tragic moments, or it plays out as us taking one day at a time and living in the moment. Just like we did with CrossPoint staff, I encourage us to take a moment to look forward. I'd argue that looking forward is part of how God designed us to live.
Jeremiah 29 is most known for one verse, which might be one of the most misused verses in scripture. Verse 11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." It's a beautiful promise, and I suppose one could make the case that this is always true because this is God's character, but it's essential to look at the context and the story behind it.
The people of Judah are in exile from Jerusalem in Babylon. Eugene Peterson describes exile as a "place you don't want to be, doing something you don't want to do, with people you don't want to be with.” I hadn't thought of a 7th-grade band concert as being exiled, but Eugene might be onto something here. Jeremiah was writing to the people of Judah when he was in Jerusalem as a warning for them. A few verses before 11, Jeremiah talks about some false prophets who were promising a return from exile in just two years. Two years is nothing; it's not even worth planning beyond that because it might not be worth the effort to make plans if they are not going to be in Babylon much longer. But, the Lord, through Jeremiah, tells the people of Judah this:
4 "Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 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. 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, 9 for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord. 10 "For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.
In His kindness, God tells them what they need to hear and not what they want to hear. He tells them that they will not be out of exile in two years, and that they should settle in and make this place their home because they will be there for the better part of a lifetime.
The people of Judah fantasized about getting back home as soon as possible, but God had a plan for them to live and prosper right where He had them.
We are made in the image of God, meaning we share the attributes of God. And while we may not be able to know the future like God does, we do have the ability to envision or dream of the future that God has planned. If you don't believe me, let me show you how we practice this all the time. On the negative side, when you worry or are anxious, you are typically concerned about the future you think you can see or not see. On the positive, you are thinking about the future when you pray for healing for a friend or family member. You know God can heal, and you also know that He does heal.
God had a dream for the people of Judah that He promised would come 70 years from now, and He also had a plan for them right where they were. Looking to the future is a matter of trust; doing what he has called you to do right now is obedience.
As we gathered CrossPoint staff together, we dreamed of a day when the people of God (Who's the church?) join in on the Mission of God. We desire that every believer understands that they have a direct and specific role in the mission of God. The role of the staff is to "equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ" Eph 4:12. We are excited about the future, and we are sure of the plans He has for us today!
Eric Franklin
Lead Pastor