Heaven Is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back by Todd Burpo, Sonja Burpo, Lynn Vincent, Colton Burpo Page A
Tags: Religión, General, Christian Theology, Inspirational, Christianity, Parapsychology, Body; Mind & Spirit, Christian Life, Religious aspects, heaven, Near-Death Experiences - Religious Aspects - Christianity, Near-Death Experience, Near-Death Experiences, Heaven - Christianity, Burpo; Colton, Eschatology
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of Coltons young age. The nature of the Trinity, the role of the Holy Spirit, Jesus sitting at the right hand of God.
I believed. But how could I be sure?
I smoothed Coltons blanket across his chest and tucked him in snug the way he likedand for the first time since he started talking about heaven, I intentionally tried to trip him up. I remember you saying you stayed with Pop, I said. So when it got dark and you went home with Pop, what did you two do?
Suddenly serious, Colton scowled at me. It doesnt get dark in heaven, Dad! Who told you that?
I held my ground. What do you mean it doesnt get dark?
God and Jesus light up heaven. It never gets dark. Its always bright.
The joke was on me. Not only had Colton not fallen for the when it gets dark in heaven trick, but he could tell me why it didnt get dark: The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.7
NINETEEN JESUS REALLY LOVES THE CHILDREN
For months in late 2003 and early 2004, there was a certain set of things that Colton seemed to fixate on. He talked about death and dying more weirdreally weirdfor a kid his age. He also shared more about what heaven looks like. These details came out in bits and pieces over dinner, while he ran errands with Sonja and me, and during the general flow of life.
He saw the gates of heaven, he said: They were made of gold and there were pearls on them. The heavenly city itself was made of something shiny, like gold or silver. The flowers and trees in heaven were beautiful, and there were animals of every kind.
No matter what new tidbits he revealed, though, Colton had one consistent theme: he talked constantly about how much Jesus loves the children. I mean that: constantly.
He would wake up in the morning and tell me: Hey Dad, Jesus told me to tell you, He really loves the children.
Over dinner at night: Remember, Jesus really loves the children.
Before bed, as I helped him brush his teeth, Hey, Daddy dont forget, hed say, garbling the words through a mouthful of toothpaste foam, Jesus said he really, really loves the children!
Sonja got the same treatment. She had begun working part-time again by then, and on the days she stayed home with Colton, he chirped all day long about Jesus loving the children. It got so that it didnt matter what Bible story she or I read to our tiny evangelist at night, whether from the Old Testament, the New Testament, about Moses or Noah or King Solomon, Colton wrapped up the night with the same message: Jesus loves the children!
Heaven is for real
Page: 37
We might have grown weary of Coltons nonstop message about Jesus love for kids, but it did transform the way we approached childrens ministry in our church. Sonja had always been torn between singing on the worship team during Sunday morning services and going downstairs to teach Sunday school for the kids. And while she knew that statistics show most people who profess faith in Christ do so at a young age, it was Coltons passionate insistence on Christs love for children that gave Sonja fresh energy for our kids ministry.
I also became bolder about asking church members to serve in our childrens ministry. Over the years, Id had to fight to get people to sign up to teach Sunday school. They would give me the verbal stiff-arm, saying, I did my turn last year, or Im too old for that.
Now, when I ran into those same excuses, I lovingly reminded people that Jesus clearly viewed children as preciousand that if he loved kids enough to say that adults should be more like them, we should spend more time loving them too.
During that time, Colton had also become obsessed with rainbows. All his talk about the magnificent colors in heaven reminded Sonja and me of the book of Revelation, where the apostle John wrote specifically about the rainbow surrounding Gods throne,1 and where he describes heaven as a gleaming city of gold:
The wall was built of jasper,
I believed. But how could I be sure?
I smoothed Coltons blanket across his chest and tucked him in snug the way he likedand for the first time since he started talking about heaven, I intentionally tried to trip him up. I remember you saying you stayed with Pop, I said. So when it got dark and you went home with Pop, what did you two do?
Suddenly serious, Colton scowled at me. It doesnt get dark in heaven, Dad! Who told you that?
I held my ground. What do you mean it doesnt get dark?
God and Jesus light up heaven. It never gets dark. Its always bright.
The joke was on me. Not only had Colton not fallen for the when it gets dark in heaven trick, but he could tell me why it didnt get dark: The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.7
NINETEEN JESUS REALLY LOVES THE CHILDREN
For months in late 2003 and early 2004, there was a certain set of things that Colton seemed to fixate on. He talked about death and dying more weirdreally weirdfor a kid his age. He also shared more about what heaven looks like. These details came out in bits and pieces over dinner, while he ran errands with Sonja and me, and during the general flow of life.
He saw the gates of heaven, he said: They were made of gold and there were pearls on them. The heavenly city itself was made of something shiny, like gold or silver. The flowers and trees in heaven were beautiful, and there were animals of every kind.
No matter what new tidbits he revealed, though, Colton had one consistent theme: he talked constantly about how much Jesus loves the children. I mean that: constantly.
He would wake up in the morning and tell me: Hey Dad, Jesus told me to tell you, He really loves the children.
Over dinner at night: Remember, Jesus really loves the children.
Before bed, as I helped him brush his teeth, Hey, Daddy dont forget, hed say, garbling the words through a mouthful of toothpaste foam, Jesus said he really, really loves the children!
Sonja got the same treatment. She had begun working part-time again by then, and on the days she stayed home with Colton, he chirped all day long about Jesus loving the children. It got so that it didnt matter what Bible story she or I read to our tiny evangelist at night, whether from the Old Testament, the New Testament, about Moses or Noah or King Solomon, Colton wrapped up the night with the same message: Jesus loves the children!
Heaven is for real
Page: 37
We might have grown weary of Coltons nonstop message about Jesus love for kids, but it did transform the way we approached childrens ministry in our church. Sonja had always been torn between singing on the worship team during Sunday morning services and going downstairs to teach Sunday school for the kids. And while she knew that statistics show most people who profess faith in Christ do so at a young age, it was Coltons passionate insistence on Christs love for children that gave Sonja fresh energy for our kids ministry.
I also became bolder about asking church members to serve in our childrens ministry. Over the years, Id had to fight to get people to sign up to teach Sunday school. They would give me the verbal stiff-arm, saying, I did my turn last year, or Im too old for that.
Now, when I ran into those same excuses, I lovingly reminded people that Jesus clearly viewed children as preciousand that if he loved kids enough to say that adults should be more like them, we should spend more time loving them too.
During that time, Colton had also become obsessed with rainbows. All his talk about the magnificent colors in heaven reminded Sonja and me of the book of Revelation, where the apostle John wrote specifically about the rainbow surrounding Gods throne,1 and where he describes heaven as a gleaming city of gold:
The wall was built of jasper,
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