Heaven is for Real.

I read this book today at work. Yes, that's right. The whole book. In less than 2 hours. No big deal. It's only about 150 pages though. I know I've blogged about this book before, but I want to revisit it.

For those of you who haven't read this book, it's about a four year old who takes a trip to heaven. He gets really sick and has several surgeries. Over the course of the next few years, the boy, Colton, reveals different details of what he experienced. For example, he can recall where his parents were and what they were doing while he was in surgery. He says that he sat on the lap of Jesus and he's able to describe Heaven. The details this young boy tells his parents are amazing. Impossible, really.

He also tries to describe what Jesus looked like. He wasn't able to. Over several years, Colton's parents showed him picture after picture trying to figure out what he had seen. Every single picture was wrong in some way. Until one day, Todd Burpo stumbled across a painting that had been done by a young girl who claimed to see visions of heaven. Here's the painting:

Some people are extremely skeptical of this boy's story. And who wouldn't be? It's a story that is very hard to believe. I mean, a boy who didn't technically die went up to Heaven and saw Jesus, God, Gabriel, John, angels, his great-grandfather, and even Satan? A little boy who claims to have seen his unborn sister while in Heaven? Talk about mind blowing!

Personally, I choose to believe this incredible tale. Yes, it's a miracle. But miracles are possible with such a loving God. One of the main points in this book is that Colton believes with a childlike faith. He doesn't know "logic" yet to be able to refute what he saw. I believe that's how all Christians should look at their faith - with childlike eyes.

Another reason I choose to believe this is because I have had a situation similar to that of Todd Burpo. At one point after telling Colton's story, Todd Burpo was approached by a woman. She asked him an incredibly hard question, that he somehow managed to answer. He had no idea where the answer had come from, and knew that it must have been the help of God. I've had one of those situations. The night I read the book of Matthew and realized that I believed what I had read, Matt asked me a question. He asked me, "Who is Jesus to you?" I didn't even hesitate to answer with, "He's my Savior and He died for my sins." After I had hit send, I just kind of sat there. Where in the world had that answer come from? That moment was probably one of the times I have felt closest to God. It was amazing.

One reason I really enjoy this book is because Colton wants to tell everyone the good news. He wants to tell every person he sees that Jesus loves them. He talks several times about how much Jesus loves us. It's so refreshing and humbling to read that over and over again. It also touches my heart. There are so many times that I want to just go out and scream to the mountain tops how much I love God. I want everyone and their mom to know that God loves us. It is for this reason that I have started to look into doing missionary work.