brownwood, texas...heaven on earth?!?

The Bible talks a lot about Heaven on Earth and things like "bringing Heaven to Earth" or "on Earth as it is in Heaven" and to be honest, for much of my life, those were empty words. They were just some fancy Biblical jargon or philosophical ideals, but not something that I could see in a realistic light.

But as I have grown, learned, studied Scripture, and simply lived life, I have seen how realistic this can actually be.

Every summer my home church goes to their Youth Camp in the summer. Growing up, it was always one of my favorite weeks of the year, period, but I never thought much about why it was one of my favorite weeks of the year. I mean, it was camp...enough said, right? Then, as I have gotten older, I have gone back to the camp to serve and even to be the Camp Pastor and it still remains one of my favorite weeks of the year. I am no longer doing all the kiddo camp stuff, yet it is still a magical place.

Why is this?

In our college group here, we've been studying the work of the Holy Spirit and lately we have been pouring through Acts 2, and in that chapter there is this lil picture of what seems to be somewhat of a picturesque community--almost like a lil Heaven on Earth. It says things like, "everyone was filled with awe..." and "they broke bread...and ate together with glad and sincere hearts" and even how they enjoyed "...the favor of all the people."

The reason why everything seems so picturesque there in Acts and the reason why Camp is always one of my favorite moments of the year, is because I believe that in those moments we are seeing a glimpse into how God designed life to be lived. 

We are praying together, we are fellowshipping and goofing off together, we are playing together, we are breaking bread together, we are taking care of each other's needs, we are laughing and singing together, we are experiencing God together, and while all this is going on, the people on the outside looking in, are digging it...or in Biblical terms, when we live life the way God intended, we will be, "enjoying the favor of all the people."

Bringing Heaven to Earth is not as unrealistic or as ginormous of a task as it might sound. Trust me, if it can happen in Brownwood, Texas, it can happen anywhere.