The Promised Land?

Now, although my blogging may not yet have fully demonstrated this fact, I love my new home. Kensington would certainly have to be the most beautiful place I have ever lived. The natural beauty is clear, the houses are charming, the laneways are suitably and rustically cobbled, the shops are convenient, the bookshop is nearby and everything a book-lover could hope for. There is excellent coffee. It is quiet, scenic, and twenty minutes closer to work.

But I regret to inform you all that it isn't perfect. No. In fact, last night there was a terrible traffic jam that made all access points to my home street rather difficult to...access. The major roads were terrible. The backstreets were no better. There was no option but to wait half an hour until I finally managed the extremely short distance from the racecourse to my house. I personally think it was some crime committed in Flemington, because those sorts of things happen over there, but all the same, there it is: traffic, in my beautiful suburb.

I'm speaking, of course, with a goodly portion of my tongue placed in my cheek, but in amongst all of this I am aware acutely of my own desire to find the promised land, the perfect home, on earth. And, of course, it isn't going to happen - nor should it. The consequences are not so good when you seek to find a fully realised heaven on earth. You may find yourself driven further and further away from social problems, seeking an ideal society, avoiding all that does not conform to your concept of perfection. History tells us clearly what happens when we think or act that way.

In the suburb next door, there are rows and rows of housing commission flats. There the social issues loom large. But in the quiet streets of Kensington they are no less present, just less visible. I could hide my eyes from them, focus on all that is perfect about it, or move further away from any hint of such problems. But where would that lead me?

The prerogative God gives us is clear: not to seek heaven on earth, but to fix our eyes on heaven and live out its values and glory now. Which means bringing heaven into the pain and heartache, not avoiding it as a means of making heaven.

So here it goes on record: I will try my best to do the former, and pray that I can avoid the former, and praise God for His grace when I fail persistently at both.