Trip to heaven

The Good Life with Eli F.J. Tajanlangit

Over five million copies of this book have been sold, and it has stayed on top of The New York Times bestseller list. It is about an extraordinary story told in a simple, straightforward manner. It is about one boy’s trip to heaven.

Yes, heaven. The one place whose existence men continue to argue over and even kill for. The place of eternal happiness, where God and his angels and saints live; the place where we all hope to end up

In fact, the book’s title is “Heaven is For Real.” It is written by Todd Burpo, a Nebraskan pastor, together with Lynn Vincent. It puts down in writing the story of how Burpo’s three-year-old kid, Colton, had died on the emergency room, left his body, and went to heaven and back.

Unlike a similarly sensational book, “Embraced by the Light”, by Betty Jean Eadie, Colton’s experience in heaven is told in snippets and snatches as he tells them over a period of more than a year. Todd and his wide, Sonja, had approached the idea that their son had visited heaven cautiously, slowly, and allowed the story to gain traction without forcing the boy to confess it all.

In fact, they only started talking about it to friends, and later to Todd’s congregation, only when incontrovertible “facts” started surfacing to bolster the story.

One: Colton described the scenes in places away from the operating room on the night he had supposedly died and left his body.

Two: He announced to his parents he had another sister, who died before she was born, a fact that he did not know.  She was in heaven.

Three: He said he met his grandfather in heaven. Shown a photo of his “Pop” as an old man, Colton could not recognize him. However, he was able to pick out “Pop” as a young man in a group photo shown him later.

Four: When his father was ministering a dying man, Colton had approached his bed and told him: “It’s going to be okay. The first person you are going to see is Jesus.”

What makes this interesting is that Todd validates the scenes Colton narrates with what the Bible says. As engaging and as entertaining as it is, the book is one Bible study that takes up passages from Revelation and other books like the Hebrews, John, Acts, Matthew, Daniel.

Colton’s descriptions, like the seating arrangements at the Godly throne, match what the Bible says. Interestingly, another case of an earthling visiting heaven, that of 12-year-old Akiane Karamarik, whose story was picked up by CNN, has similarities to Colton’s. In fact, it was Akiane’s painting of Jesus that Colton had said came closest to how He looked when he saw Him.

Another interesting point in the book is the question about Mary, the Blessed Mother whose character is not one that many Christian churches give emphasis on. Colton said he saw her there in heaven. “He saw Mary kneeling before the throne of God, and at times, standing beside Jesus,” the book says, then quotes Colton: “Mary still loves Jesus like a mom”.

In the end, of course, all this will all boil down to a question of faith. To non-believers, this book should be placed in the fiction, if not fantasy, section. To believers, this is one happy validation of what we have believed all along.

Whatever it is, I think if the book succeeds in sparking interest in heaven, and the question of whether it exists or not would already be an achievement, a giant one, indeed, in these faithless and cynical times.

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A boy's story of his trip to heaven -- and back.*

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