The Shiny City - Glimmering with light, rescued from sin by a shining knight!

Growing up, a trip to the Sydney CBD was a rare treat, an occasional joy, but it was rare enough to feel the magic of Sydney. The trip over the Harbour Bridge after an Easter show as we headed back to my grandmother's house. The bright lights really were bright, everything seemed so important, although there always seemed to be just too many people everywhere, and the streets never seemed safe (even though they probably were).

Tonight heading home from work, I was struck by the sheer beauty of the whole thing. Sydney simply is a beautiful city. Especially if you leave via the Harbour Bridge (you might see the "above view" of this one).

Somehow though, I don't think that a bit of a comment about how strange it is to catch a taxi, and how wonderful the city of Sydney is, is enough to deal with Easter.

You see, in my bible there is this bit about a spectacular city, a city that looks like a priceless jewel, a city prepared as a bride on her wedding day.

Well, Sydney has nothing on this city! This city is full of people, people rescued by God. People who were cleaned up from the inside out, so that they could live with him.

And get this, the guy who did the cleaning up, he was the sort of guy who probably belonged smack-bang in the middle of a beautiful city. He was the guy who you would want to be running the show. But he cleaned us up by being executed. He was executed outside the great city of Jerusalem, treated like a criminal, so that I and many more could go free.

So this weekend, instead of thinking about the city I work in, and the city I live in. I will be trying to think of the city he cleaned up, and the city I'll be forever in. The heavenly Zion.