And when he {Jesus} drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

I found myself at a point I’ve been at many times before. That point is a longing that I can’t explain. A longing that goes deeper than anything I know. This longing is for the city that God has called me to. Granted, I’m not Jesus. I just wasn’t greeted with palm branches and adoration proclaiming that I was indeed the Messiah. I’m not looking ahead knowing that I will be betrayed, left for dead by those that are closest to me, will hang on a cross in shear humiliation and more. That’s not me, that’s Jesus, clearly. Although there is an aspect of Jesus’ heart for Jerusalem, that I pray that I would have for this great city, Prague, that God has called me to.

There are three brief insights from verse 41 that can serve us, as believers, well for loving the cities that God has called us to. It must be noted that these three insights, are not, indeed, rocket science, but as I read them today and meditated on them, I realized I get lost in the shuffle of practicing them here in Prague.

Drew Near
Simple isn’t it. Draw near. All too often, the problems in the city (crime, homelessness, noise and more) keep us from drawing near to the city, and we find ourselves keep the city at arms length. That way we don’t have to get our hands dirty. So we keep the problems of the city at a distance and we scoff at the city and it’s problems. The whole time forgetting that there are people that God loves in that city. We need to be reminded that Jesus drew near in a way that we cannot even begin to understand in the incarnation – God, Himself, becoming flesh and getting his hands dirty mixing it up in the midst of sin-wrecked humanity. So my question for myself, and for you, is – Are you drawing near and loving the city? Or are you standing at a distance scoffing at the evil of the city, refusing to follow Jesus’ lead and entering?

Saw the City
It seems to be a very logical flow, doesn’t it? As you draw near to something, or someone, you then see what is really going on, you see the situation. As Jesus, drew near to the city, he saw it. He observed it. What was to come to the city, came to his mind. So as we, make the decision to draw near to the city, we don’t know what the future will bring, but we can observe. We can see where God is working. We can see desperate areas where God is desperately needed. We see. We diagnose. We then can pray. So how are you “seeing” your city? Are you “seeing” it purposely? What observations are you making? Where does it appear that God is moving? What areas need His touch?

Wept Over It
To follow the progression, as we draw near (enter) the city, we will see the city (make observations), then we will be moved and weep for the city (empathize, sympathize, move forward and do something). The four words – He wept over it – always move me. They move me to pray. First, to pray that God would give me a genuine desire to love ‘my Jerusalem’ (the city God has called me to and put me in), Prague, in ways that are out of myself, no matter what happens. It’s always challenged me that Jesus knew what the people in the city of Jerusalem would do to him in the days to come, he what ‘Jerusalem’ would do to Him and He still wept. He still loved in ways that I can’t. This is convicting as I find myself, secretly cursing aspects of the city, and people in the city when things don’t ‘go my way.’ Oh how fickle I am. Oh how quickly I can forget that apart from Jesus’ work in my heart, that I am just as vile, as the vile parts of the city that drive me crazy. I need God to continually work in me to get me to this point of weeping for Prague. So where are you in the ‘weeping’ process? Are you like me, secretly cursing the ills and evils of the city? How are you weeping over your city? As we weep, may God call us to action to see His Kingdom advance in our cities, and his radical love and grace break through!

So as we journey through Passion Week together, may we not forget the places that God has called us to live, work and play. May we follow Jesus’ lead and draw near (enter the city), see (observe where God is working or what areas need God’s touch) and lastly weep over it (being moved to make a difference in our cities).

Getting lost in loving your city? Here is a great post over at Church Planting Novice – 8 Ways to Easily be Missional.