HEAVEN IS FOR REAL

By Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent

People were beginning to call Pastor Todd Burpo, Pastor Job. He seemed to have one trouble after another. First he broke his leg, then he suffered with kidney stones then he had a mastectomy. Todd and his wife, Sonja, decided they needed some family time together. While off on a family vacation, their son Colton, age three, came down with what appeared to be a stomach flu. Colton’s symptoms continued and the doctors did not know why. Todd and Sonja could see the shadow of death upon their son. They signed their son out of the hospital and took him to another doctor. Had they waited too long? Dr. O’Holleran’s diagnosis was a burst appendix. The other hospital had ruled it out. Colton was taken into the operating room. The doctor and nurses did not offer any hope. Fathers and especially Pastors are supposed to hold it together but Todd found a small room to vent his anger and hurt to his heavenly Father. Colton survived the surgery but it was a while before he was an active little boy again.

As time past, Colton would make comments which aroused his parents’ curiosity. At a funeral, Colton asked if the man knew Jesus. “He has to! He has to! He can’t get into heaven if he didn’t have Jesus in his heart!” he adamantly declared. This was unusual for a boy of less than four years old. When passing the hospital again, Colton said, “That’s where the angels sang to me… Jesus had the angels sing to me because I was scared….I was sitting on His lap.” Todd and Sonja began to ask him open ended questions. What they discovered was that Colton had an out of body experience while in surgery. He entered heaven. Could that really be true? Todd asked him questions which a three year old in a Sunday School class would not be able to answer. He found Colton’s answers were consistent with the Scriptures.

More personal information was also revealed which Colton had no way of knowing. Colton asked his mother why she never told him he had two sisters. Sonja had a miscarriage before Colton was born. She never even knew it was a girl. Colton related that he met her and she hugged him. He also identified his great grandfather who died long before he was born.

The book gives us insight into heaven from the viewpoint of an innocent child. He describes God as really, really big; Jesus has beautiful eyes; and nobody in heaven is old or wears glasses. While the book addresses a serious topic, there are humorous passages. When deciding on the title of the book, Todd wanted Heaven by Four, Sonja wanted Heaven, According to Colton, and his sister Cassie wanted He’s Back, but He’s No Angel.