I am sure you will agree that we are living in challenging times on many fronts. While at times it may seem we are unique, my guess is that we are probably not the first generation (or the last) to feel this way. A quick flip through the pages of history seems to confirm this. From the persecution in the Roman Coliseums to the medieval pandemic that wiped out up to half of Europe’s population, not to mention the last hundred years: two world wars, a worldwide depression, and at least a few genocides, just to name a few of humanities lowlights. Yup, enough turmoil and heartache to depress even an optimist.

While I don’t want to minimize the challenges facing us today, we are not the first generation to experience cataclysmic changes. I am sure there are a few generations over the millennia that would have stories to tell. This  got me thinking of Psalm 137 the other day. You’ll recall that this passage is a lament by the Jews while in exile – they were weeping while sitting by the rivers of Babylon. I think that their question is common to all exiles; to those in a strange land: “How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?”

I think we have a lot in common with these Jewish exiles of long ago. This world is also not our final home. In the face of the situations around us, weeping sometimes seems like the only viable reaction. However  in Jer. 29 we are provided with an alternative. The prophet  encourages those same exiles – and us – to settle down, have sons and daughters, and seek the peace and prosperity of the place in which they were in captivity. I am sure it seemed rather crazy, How were they to stay engaged with life in that god-forsaken place, particularly since they knew that in 70 years they would no longer be there? But I think that this is the point. Similarly, each of us only spend one short lifetime in this strange land with its foreign values. Yet we can still sing the songs of Zion, because, as  Jeremiah reminded those exiles, God had good plans for them and us. As  Jesus taught, we may be in this world, but we do not share its values. While all wrongs will not be righted in our lifetimes, his plans and justice extend beyond our “70 years of exile.”

So while we live our lives here as exiles, our real future is what gives us hope, which is how it is possible to sing the Lord’s song as we face the challenges surrounding us. In spite of a dysfunctional world, we can adjust our focus and sing the songs of the Lord in a foreign land. Focusing on our eternal home does not lead to disengagement, but rather helps us put the world’s current troubles into the correct perspective. I would suggest that this is what followers of Jesus have been doing ever since the first century. And the really good news is that God’s plans for us have not changed,  we can have that same strength that comes from a focus on Jesus and his ultimate plans – even in our modern 21^st century world.