“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.”
- Jeremiah 29:5

There comes a time in every relationship when you need to actively choose to reinvest. With siblings it might be once you move out of your parents’ house or once your parents pass away. With friends it might happen when a job change takes you out of the context of seeing each other daily. In marriage the need to reinvest happens over and over and over again at every stage of life.

Choosing to reinvest makes a tremendous difference.

Jeremiah encouraged the people living in exile to make an intentional decision to reinvest in their community. Building a house is a big commitment. Planting a garden sounds like hard work. And it has to be done every year.

This message Jeremiah writes to the exiles is sent at a time when other prophets were saying “don’t get too comfortable, we won’t be in exile very long.” Jeremiah writes to correct those prophets who encouraged people to live out of their suitcases. The people’s readiness to bolt prevented them from experiencing God’s blessing to them in that season. The same God who brought them into exile (verse 4) and wanted to bless them (verse 11) wanted them to settle down, to commit and to recommit. The blessing could only be experienced if they unpacked their suitcases and planted roots.

There is a tremendous blessing that comes to us when we’re willing to be creative in partnering with people in deeper and deeper ways over a long time. New options for intimacy and effectiveness are available to people who have walked in partnership for years and years.

There are things you can only share with an old friend. There are things you just can’t do in your first year in business. There are things that just won’t happen in your first year of marriage.

Take stock today. Who are your long-term relationships? What moves are you making to intentionally invest in those relationships?