The City of God—David Kitz

Have you ever asked yourself, where is the best place to live? Where is the best place to grow-up? Where is the best place to find work, settle down and raise a family? Where is the best place to retire? I'm sure we all have given some thought to these questions.

I grew up on a farm in wide open rural Saskatchewan. It was a full mile as the crow flies to the nearest neighbour, but if you stood at the right spot in our farmyard, you could see our neighbour's house. I loved growing up on the farm and I still love visiting. Who wouldn't? I was living in God's country surrounded by the wild beauty of nature in all its varied and ever-changing forms.

But I have spent the last forty years living in the city—actually three rather large cities with populations more than a million—Edmonton, Alberta, Nagoya, Japan and Ottawa, Ontario. Is the God of the open country the God of the city too? The psalmist seemed to think so. He begins Psalm 48 with this declaration: Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain.

Of course the psalmist was referring to biblical Jerusalem, more specifically Mount Zion, the fortified citadel within the walls of Israel's capital. The psalmist states that God is in her citadels. During the reign of David the Ark of the Covenant—the seat of the LORD's rule—was housed in the sacred tabernacle on Mount Zion. This was where God dwelt. He lived among His people.

I think it's best to live where God lives.

Where does God dwell today? Does He live in the city or in the open country? As partakers of the new covenant, through the blood of Christ we are individually and corporately the temple of God. Paul, the apostle, asks, "Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?" (1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV). God lives in us. We are the habitation of the LORD.

God can be seen on the prairies, in the jungles of Borneo and the Siberian tundra. But God dwells in the city too—your city. Whether it's Toronto, Halifax, New York or Tokyo, God is within her because His redeemed people live there—because you live there. 

Response: LORD, I thank you because you live within us! Help me to let my light shine in my city. Amen.

Your Turn: How would you characterize your city? How is God revealing His presence there?