Heaven to Earth

I meant to post this blog during the few days that Javier and I had in Llallagua but something held me back from doing so then and I didn´t know why but I think I do now: this will be a challenging blog to read and digest for some and I usually try not to rock the boat but this time I can´t help it. I need to get this off my chest and out there so y´all can be a part of it as well. Buckle up and put your hands above your head (figuratively, of course... but if you want to, really do it for a couple seconds ;P) because here it goes! Also, grab your Bible and look up the verses as you come upon them (I didn´t type most of them out to save space, but they are all important).
The first part of this last trip Javier and I were on, I was able to have a few days of rest. During that time I read a book called Velvet Elvis. Some of you may have read it as well; it´s by a pastor named Rob Bell, the goofy guy from the Nooma videos. I read this book one time a while back but I decided to read it again on this trip. And I am very, very glad I did so. For those of you who don´t know me very well, I freakin´ love books! And for me to say that a book has `changed´ me had never happened... before now. I don´t know what I was doing the first time I read Velvet Elvis but I must have been in Neverland picking my nose! Because this time, from when I opened it for the first time to when I finally was able to put it down completed, I got so much from what Mr. Bell wrote that I can honestly say it opened my eyes to a few things.
There were three different things that Rob Bell talked about that have deeply affected me but I will only share one of them in this blog (the other two might be another blog... hehe). He pointed out that everytime Jesus talked about the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven/God, he talked about it like it would come here. This deeply affects the way we should view this life we have here. We have had this view of us ascending into heaven to spend eternity with God and our Lord Jesus Christ, but that is never mentioned in the Bible (for an awesome picture of what will happen, read Revelation 21). Rob Bell then made a great point that I have been trying to apply to my life every day since I read it; he said that it should be our goal to, in every possible moment, bring heaven to earth. We should always be looking for opportunities to share the Kingdom with everyone we come across. I am not saying that we have to preach to everyone we come across in order to `win them´ to the Kingdom. Just the opposite, in fact: our actions should speak far louder than any preacher, pastor, evangelist, missionary, etc to open people´s eyes to the Kingdom. We should be on the look out to share, though our actions, how Jesus has changed us to be different from the world. Little acts of kindness can go a heck of a lot farther than the best sermon (sorry, pastors...). Romans 12:9-13. Helping someone load their groceries, giving your leftovers from Cheddar´s (mmm...) to a homeless person, visiting a nursing home just to talk and make a connection with the lonely people there, anonymously paying for someone´s dinner, volunteering time in the community, helping someone whose car broke down on the side of the road, the list is quite literally endless! Matthew 25: 31-40.
This is the part that I was hesitant about until now: I would like to challenge everyone who reads this (and don´t be shy to share with your Christian brothers and sisters; this is for everyone, not just the readers of this blog) to bring `heaven to earth.´ It might help in the beginning if you set a goal for every week (or day) but please, I beg you, DO NOT limit yourself to that goal. If another opportunity arises, don´t think ¨Oh well, I already reached my goal, can´t help ya....¨ Be eager and ready to share the Kingdom with everyone at any time with your actions. Galatians 6:9. If the person asks you ¨Why?¨ just reply ¨I´m just trying to demonstrate my love for Jesus Christ by doing everything I can to bring heaven to earth.¨ You´ll definetely get strange looks every now and then, but I bet they will be intrigued more often than not about the difference in this stranger who just randomly helped them. John 13:34-35. Lastly, please, please, please do not share with each other your `latest act´ lest it become a competition to see who can be the better `good samaritian.´ Matthew 6:1-4. Rather, simply ask one another ¨Have you brought heaven to earth lately?¨ Hear me on this, brothers and sisters, the answer is not important (in fact, it would be better if you didn´t answer) but the fact that that each one of you is keeping this in the front of your mind to be ready to jump at the opportunity to help another person is what´s really important.
I pray that, together, by `bringing heaven to earth´ we will be able to show people that we are different from the world and that we are trying to become more like our Lord Jesus (John 13:12-17) every chance we get. I believe that we can change the world by these acts into a better place (which would be heaven, would it not?) because these acts will open people´s eyes up/lead them to the Kingdom far more effectively than if you preached to them the Roman´s Road, the Four Spiritual Laws, Creation-to-Christ, or any other evangelism tract. As Rob Bell put it so perfectly: ¨The goal of the Christian faith isn´t escaping this world but making this world the kind of place God can come to.¨ ¨So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, `We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.´¨ Luke 17:10.
Here are a few Scripture that might help you with this task as well: Mark 10:42-45, Luke 6:35, Luke 12:32-34, Luke 14:12-14.