19 June, Uruguay.
Everyone here raves about NZ. Well, ok, most of my friends here and the irish guy at the hostel. But still, even with this subset of 'Everyone', I'm suprised.
They rave about the place - its beauty, the work, the quality of life, lack of corruption, the people. Speak of it like its the Promised Land. Those not fortunate enough to have been listen to the sighs and praise and are converted on the spot.
For us Kiwis, this is Sweet! Good as! for our tourism, our seasonal worker demand and shortage of professionals. Its also a little humbling. I mean, by what stroke of luck have we been born/brought up in such paradise? And which aspect of your life were your complaining about the other day?
Now, NZ is undoubtedly beautiful, peaceful and safe. Yes, it flows with milk (and therefore South Americans) and we have a reasonable amount of honey. Yet, its far from perfect. You and I have seen its ugly side - the poverty ( relative, nevertheless poverty), the destructive PC ness, the terrible social stats that shouldn't be in a 1st world country as ours. And you and I don't live fairytale lives either.
Makes me think: there is quality of life, and there is quality of life. You can be in the best country in the world, but if your heart isn't in the right place, you'll still be lacking. You can be in the most peaceful of places, but if you're not at peace with your Maker, you'll never have peace within. You can find yourself in the most beautiful of surroundings, but if you dont know the Creator of beauty, you'll never fully appreciate it all.
Tell me if this isnt true. Yet how often do we favour the pursuit of a passport over the citizenship of our souls?
What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world (NZ, even!), yet loses his soul?1
And for those of us who have addressed the later - I wonder what it'd be like if we raved about heaven the way my friends rave about NZ. Sure, no-one has ever been there and back on a working holiday visa. But if we know our God well enough, if we are familiar with his Lonely Planet Guide, then we have idea enough of our Promised Land.
What if heaven were the hot topic of our conversations; always in the back (or front) of our minds; our obsession, our passion, our destination; our one cause we would willingly leave everything we know as 'home' behind for?
'...for we have an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands... our citizenship is in heaven...so we fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen...for what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal....' 2
Disturb Us, Lord
Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
(attributed to Sir Francis Drake -1577)
1 Matthew 16v26
2 2 Corínthians 5v1, 4v18, Philippians 3v20
