I have it!

This weekend I am traveling to Princeton, KY once again. Yes, I am thoroughly excited to hold my nephew, Preston Luke for the first time. As enthralling as that is, our trip home was originally planned for my ten year reunion.

Ten years ago I, along with many graduates, could not wait to load up the car and hit the highway headed OUT OF TOWN, most notably - OUT OF PRINCETON. Eighteen years of childhood was now on the brink of extinction. Satisfaction was not in Princeton but somewhere on the horizon.

I was thilled when I ascended 75 North out of Kentucky looking onward to the grand skyline of Cincinnati (although, my mother did not hold the same emotion once Cincinnati's skyline dominated her vision).

Once I arrived and became acclimated with the school and other's who found their way to Mount St. Joseph, I was surprised to find disdain for the New World. For many, they were in the same situation - the city, at a private, Catholic school. Life was not in Cincinnati - it was somewhere else. There was nothing new, fresh, and exciting. It wasn't what they were looking for.

In the same way, people I met who had grown up in Louisville had the same disdain for life. There was no satisfaction in the present. It wasn't in Princeton; it wasn't in Cincinnati; it wasn't in Louisville.

This past Christmas, my wife and I were at Kroger in Houston, TX. We were shopping for Powdered Sugar, and to our surprise, Kroger was out. In my disbelief, I uttered my discovery outloud. A newby middle aged woman garbled, "What do you expect? It's Dickinson, TX."

The fourth largest city in the United States is out of confectionate sugar and is clearly the most desolate region in the world. Needless to say, nothing sweet can be found in Houston.

The dissatisfaction for all of these people is that everyone is truly longing for something better - something other worldly. The sad reality for many people is that ultimate joy is waiting for them. Every town or city that I claim as my home for the rest of my life will never satisfy my longings. I can search down every road and each establishment, but I will not find satisfaction apart from Jesus Christ. I will not find God apart from His Word, and I will not find a faithful witness of His Word apart from a New Testament Church.
The church is the evidence of the Kingdom of Christ in this present world. I can attest that the church is not the Kingdom nor will it ever be nor are there perfect people in the church. However, right now the Kingdom is reigning in the lives of those who are living with the peace of God that rests in hope of the coming King.
I know I want something better. I know I haven't found it in any city. But I have found the greatest treasure ever to be found.