Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Book Review: Heaven Is For Real

Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo, have you read it yet?  If you're a Christian, it's a must read.  An emotional read, but a must.  I picked this one up on our drive home from Springfield, MO and finished it in under 2 hours.  Granted it's only 150 some odd pages, but it's the content that clutches your heart.  The descriptions you've heard all throughout the Bible are accurately retold through a four year old child recalling his time there.  Amazing is just about the only word I can think to describe what I read, but that doesn't do it justice.  At all.  Go.  Read it.  You'll look at your children differently.

If you're a reader of this blog and you're super skeptical of this book, I can understand that.  Here's a story retold by a child's father.  There is a huge possibility to get it wrong here.  A possibility a father just made this stuff up.  Then you read the book.  You read events that were not known to this child, Colton, yet he knew they happened.  We're talking goose pimple moments.  Moments the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.  Seriously, put your skepticism aside and just read it.  I'm curious to know your thoughts.

 However, since I am a believer, this book did nothing more than inspire me.  Over the years I have had two incidents where people have asked, "What if you're wrong?  What if you're actually believing in a huge lie?"  I don't get offended in this question.  I think it's natural for non-believers to wonder about whether God does or does not exist. 

Thankfully, I have a really solid answer.  If I'm wrong, if I'm living out this life for a God that isn't there, I still do not feel I've wasted my time on this earth.  Instead I invested in bettering others.  I've been through a journey of looking to bless others over blessing myself. I've learned to walk through a fire, despite the nay-sayers, and come through refined.  If all that is considered a waste, then I'm pleased to have wasted my life.  Fortunately for me, I've been through too many circumstances to know that God is there.  And after reading Heaven Is For Real, it makes my soul yearn for the time where I will stand in front of God and see all His Glory.  Nope, I'm not wasting my life.  I'm working to be a better me.  One who can stand in front God and hear, "Well done good and faithful servant."  I'm not there yet, but that's my goal.  What's yours?

1 comment:

Mom said...

I just couldn't wait for you to read it, too. It kept my heart soaring for days. It just makes that day even sweeter when we see Him face to face. I thought of all the losses in life and how we'll see our loved ones again. You couldn't have said it better. Thanks for posting this on your blog.