The full title of this book is Heaven is for Real: a Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back. In it Todd Burpo tells of the near death experience of his 3 year old son, Colton.
I will spare you all the reasons I came to this book with a heavy degree of skepticism and just state that I did so. Yet, I read it. I was curious. And, as I work in a bookstore, I like to be able to give a personal opinion about some of the books. Most of the current best sellers don't interest me. This one did, a bit, so I decided to read it. I'm glad I did.
Being near death, Colton Burpo was taken to surgery as the last effort to save his life after a short illness that had been misdiagnosed. I'm intentionally being a bit vague so as to not spoil the story for you. His parents knew this was serious and he might not live; especially when the hospital staff didn't give them any reassurances that he would be fine as they took him to surgery.
After his release from the hospital Colton began occasionally making comments about seeing Jesus and other obscure references to heaven. His parents pretty much ignored these comments until a time about 4 months after the surgery when some things Colton said could no longer be easily brushed off. Not only did he claim to have sat on Jesus' lap, he also told them that he saw his parents (while he was in surgery) and told them what they were doing. During part of that time they had been in separate rooms and they had never talked to him about what they did while he was in surgery, yet he could tell them.
Over the next couple of years he told them other things also. He described Jesus and talked about Him and His 'Dad' as if they were personal acquaintances. He told them he had met his 'other sister' -- the one his mother lost through a miscarriage before he was born and that he had never heard mentioned. He talked about spending time with his father's grandfather, a man who died decades before Colton was born. Furthermore, when he saw a picture of that grandfather that had been taken when he was a young man, he immediately identified him as the "Pop" with whom he had talked in Heaven. At the same time, he had no idea who the young woman in the picture was -- the great grandmother, still living, with whom he has a personal acquaintance.
The Burpo family didn't begin to speak publicly about Colton's experience for several years in order to protect his privacy. He was about 7 or 8 when they began to speak in churches about what had happened to him and what he told them as a result. Only now, when he is around 11 years old, have they written a book in order to spread the story to a broader audience. As a result of one such public talk, Mr. Burpo became aware of a certain painting of 'the Prince of Peace' of which Colton says "Dad, that one's right." when asked if it looks like Jesus. You will have to read the book to find out more about that. :-)
As I read this book I kept thinking what a great fiction story this would be. And wondering if it WAS fiction. I had a hard time believing this was all real and true. Why? Honestly, from the book I have not one reason to doubt its truthfulness. The story is told in a way that is both straight forward and credible. I didn't catch anything in it that I believe to be in conflict with scripture or with the Spirit of our holy Savior. On the other hand, I have heard and read so many "near death experience" stories that seem to me to be so incredibly unreal (as in, false) that I just can't quite bring myself to put my full confidence in any of them.
Having said all that, I recommend this book as a good read. It is well written in a friendly style. If it isn't true, it certainly seems believable. Reading it as it is presented, as fact, will bring hope and comfort to anyone who is wondering about heaven.
Happy Reading. :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment