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God's Love for Cities
God is a City Builder
For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose builder
and maker is God. -Hebrews 11:10
God began history in a Garden, but is ending it in a city (Rev.21). God
tells Adam to multiply and develop a civilization that will glorify him
(Gen.1:27-28). Adam fails, and God through Christ the second Adam does
get a civilization that glorifies him, but Hebrews and Revelation 21 show
us that this world is urban. The wife of the Lamb is a beautiful city,
shining with the glory of God (Rev.21:10-11). When we look at the New
Jerusalem, we discover that in the midst of the city is a crystal river
and the Tree of Life, bearing fruit and leaves which heal the nations
of the effects of the divine covenant curse. This city is the Garden of
Eden, remade. The City is the fulfillment of the purposes of the Eden
of God.
Is this "only" metaphorical? God is called
a Father who is building a spiritual family. That means that, though the
earthly family is an institution corrupted by sin, we are to seek to redeem
and rebuild human families. So God is a city builder who is building a
spiritual city. That means that, though the earthly city is an institution
corrupted by sin, we are to seek to redeem and rebuild human cities. As
we are to redeem human families by spreading within them the family of
God, so we are to redeem human cities by spreading within them the city
of God. We know that the power of marriage is such that, as your marriage
goes so goes your life. So the power of cities are such that, as the city
goes, so goes society.
Why God Builds Cities
1. A place of shelter for the weak and different:
- Under God: The city was invented as a place of refuge from criminals,
animals, marauders. By its nature, the city is a place where minorities
can cluster for support in an alien land, where refugees can find shelter
and where the poor can better eke out an existence. The city is always
a more merciful place for minorities of all kinds. The dominant majorities
often dislike cities, but the weak and powerless need them. They cannot
survive in the suburbs and small towns. Thus cities are places of diversity,
unlike villages. They reflect the Future City where there will be people
of "every tongue, tribe, people, and nation".
- Under sin: The city becomes a refuge from God, where people with deviant lifestyles can run and hide because of the natural tolerance the city breeds toward those who are different. Also, under sin the diversity breeds anger, tension and violence between the different groups.
2. A cultural and human development center:
- Under God: The city stimulates and focuses the gifts, capacities,
and talents of people, the deep potentialities in the human heart. It
does so by bringing you into contact with:
- people unlike you—very diverse and providing different perspectives,
and with
- people like you who are just as good or better than you at what
you do. The concentration of human talent, both by "competition"
and cooperation, produces greater works of art, science, technology,
culture. The city moves you to reach down and press toward excellence.
- people unlike you—very diverse and providing different perspectives,
and with
- Under sin: the city is exhausting, leading to burn out. Also, now the city leads human beings into an ambition to "make a name for themselves" (Gen.11:4). Selfishness, pride, and arrogance are magnified in the city. Since God invented it as a "cultural mine", the city now brings out whatever is in the human heart, the very best and worst of humanity.
