Many years ago, my family went to America in search of a "better" life. Just like many immigrants, my Mom looked at America as a promised land, a land where we could have a "better" future than what we could have had. One question people have asked me is "Is your life better here in America or is the Philippines better?" This question makes me reflect on what a "better" life means.

     On the one hand, this question really could not be answered. First, I had no choice about it, I was a minor and I go where my family goes. Second, there is no way I could really know what life would have been like if I stayed in the Philippines. There is no way to know what circumstances would have shaped my "now".

     Circumstances have shaped my life in a certain direction. In America is where I found a deeper faith which led to my conversion to Protestantism. In America is where I found my beloved wife and daughter, an experience I would not give up for anything. I can say that I am grateful for the life God has given me in America. However, I don't know how I would have been perceiving my life right now if I was in the Philippines.

     This led me to the question "What is the real promised land?", the land of human flourishing. Just like many immigrants, my mother saw this land as a promised land. However, just like my mother, there are many immigrants who are disgruntled. Theydid not have the life they dreamed of for different reasons. This reminds me of the Israelites who also envisioned the perfect life. Their life in the promised land was not a picture of perfection. There was still suffering and death.

     This makes me think that the Promised land is not just a destination but a process. The land becomes the promised land as we walk with the Lord in rightrousness, not in idolatry and selfishness. Most Christians see the promise of the gospel as a destination. Because of our faith in Jesus, we will someday be in a "land" where there will be no more pain and tears. However, Jesus says that he wants his disciples to have life to the fullest, what the promised land gives. Then he proceeded to tell his disciples to follow him and carry their cross. This seems to imply that the promise of abundant life lies in walking in the way of the cross, in the way of humility before God and man.

     What is the promised land for me? It is not America, and it would not have been the Philippines or anywhere else either. Jesus is my promised land. Wherever I walk with him is my promised land, the place where I want to be, where I find his way to be good. Wherever I follow the way of the cross, humbling mysef before God and man, I share in the abundant life. The world and the flesh fights against this, wanting us to go for number one. However, faith tells me that it is in his presence that I will find peace in the midst of the inevitable storms of life, and it is in his presence that death loses its sting. May you also find the true promised land, where you can live life to the fullest.