“Poverty has not been my experience, but God has allowed in the lives of each of us some sort of loss, the withdrawal of something we valued, in order that we may learn to offer ourselves a little more willingly, to allow the touch of death on one more thing we have clutched so tightly, and thus know fullness and freedom and joy that much sooner.” – Elisabeth Elliot

Book Review: Heaven is for Real Deluxe Edition by Todd Burpo

This book is, essentially, a testimony from a pastor dad of how God used his trials to reveal Himself. Specifically, it is about his son, Colton Burpo, and how a bout of illness became a starting point for some rather miraculous signs.

An easy read, the book’s writing style reminded me of Randy Pausch’s ‘The Last Lecture’. It is very interesting and definitely a page-turner, and I managed to finish it in one sitting.

First off, Burpo does mention some revelations in this book that unsettles me, not because that it is wrong or unbiblical, but because the Bible doesn’t explicitly confirm what Burpo states in some parts of the book. This may seem pretty trivial, but I recognise the importance of bringing such claims back to the scripture for verification. My worry is that somebody might blindly accept everything that is written in this book, and believe it as solid, irrefutable ‘Biblical truth’.

That aside, I am encouraged by this short testimony of Burpo and his family. He doesn’t show himself as a super-pastor who remains all-holy and calm amidst the storms, but instead portrays himself as a person who can become frustrated and angry at his circumstances. But in spite of this, he tells that God is still God, and He remains as our anchor and help in times of need. It is a timely reminder for myself that, like Job’s encounter, God still reigns supreme in our lives at all times, and instead of trying to carve out our own solutions, all we need to do is to trust and obey.

I would recommend this book to friends, but with the little caveat mentioned above.

books

Made a trip to the bookstore and added a few more books to my collection:

- What To Ask the Man in the Mirror, Robert Kaplan

- Counterfeit Gods, Timothy Keller

- The Prodigal God, Timothy Keller

Also, I was just reflecting and realised that Maxwell is extremely heavy on being a relational leader. Well, you don't really have to read his books per se to know that (his book titles alone would probably lead to the same conclusion), but just saying.