Heaven is for Real
I don’t remember what inspired me to read Heaven is for Real. This isn’t the type of book I’m in the habit of reading and now I remember why. The story is of a 4-year-old boy who has a very routine surgery that momentarily goes awry. After he recovers, he begins talking to his parents about what he saw in the moments when his spirit visited heaven. I don’t doubt the boy had a spiritual visitation, I believe in life on the other side, but parts of the story made me uncomfortable as the story began to unfold. I’m still not sure what caused me to experience discomfort; maybe I felt the father was trying to exploit his sons experience, maybe I felt a 4 year old wouldn’t have told the story as the book said he did, or maybe it was simply that I believe truly spiritual experiences are too personal and sacred to share with the world. Then again if anything magnificent had ever happened to me I might feel inclined to share it with the general public in hopes of inspiring others and helping them to benefit from my experience. The verdict is still under contemplation; parts of Heaven is for Real were inspiring while others made me skeptical. Maybe that means the book accomplished its goal, to make me consider the possibility and implications of visiting with people from the hereafter.
Historical Value- 0
Emotional Value- 2
Entertainment Value- 2
Personal Character Value- 3
Age recommendation- 16+
“You might as well tell God what you think. He already knows it anyway.”
“It is the opposite of ignorance—it is intellectual honesty: to be willing to accept reality and to call things what they are even when it is hard.”
“In a boxing match, the fighters absorb some vicious blows because they’re ready for them. And usually, the knockout punch is the one they didn’t see coming.”
“How do you scare some sense into a child who doesn’t fear death?”
“Now was not the time to quit and mourn. Now was the time for prayer and action.”
“What is childlike humility? It’s not the lack of intelligence, but the lack of guile. The lack of an agenda. It’s that precious, fleeting time before we have accumulated enough pride or position to care what other people might think.”
“We learned the value of being vulnerable enough to let others be strong for us, to let others bless us. That, it turned out, was a blessing to them as well.”
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses . . . let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
