- Painting of Jesus by child prodigy Akiane Kramarik - little Colton saw without knowing what it was and said that it was Jesus who he met in Heaven. Two kids on opposite sides of the earth who saw the same thing can only mean one thing... Heaven is for Real!
So I finally got a minute to catch up on some movies I had been wanting to see this weekend. One of them was the film "Heaven Is For Real", the story about four year old Colton Burpo's near death experience and his trip to Heaven and back.
I was pleasantly surprised by how touched I was by the film. I mean other than the large group of loud teenagers who got the movie theater mixed up with a frat party that is... Seriously though, I am an out of the closet Jesus loving bible believing Christian so of course I knew I was going to "like" the movie. What I didn't expect was how profound and yet simple some of the things that happened in the story would effect me.
Faith is something that can not be seen, it's felt. The bible tells us we are to have the faith of a little child. I have always been that way, I do not need to see things in black and white, I'm a heart Christian. I have felt Jesus with me most of my entire life for almost as long as I can remember. Some people are different though, they are more science Christians. They need to have things laid out like an essay with facts and logic then tie it into the "feeling" faith part.
The thing is though we are Gods miracle, we are his creation and he hard wired us with a direct line to him. Now skeptics can say what they want and they can call things what they want. After all perception is available to everyone, and each person is free to perceive things they way they want to. However in my mind this is how it works... God hard wired us with a direct line to him, and a hole in our hearts that can only be filled by him.
The little voice you hear telling you, no you shouldn't do that, don't go there, go home, stay here, move, don't move, buy, don't buy, turn in the wallet you just found on the floor, and on and on... that little "gut check" if you will is the holy spirit guiding you. Jesus left us with that part of him when he ascended into heaven after the resurrection and being here on earth for the forty days. Everyone has at some point in their life whether they are a believer or not has felt it. The question is... to believe it or not.
The very profound yet simple things that happened in this story are totally unexplainable other than it being what little Colton said it was. That he went to Heaven and saw the things he did. He also came back with a very simple yet profound message... That he (God) really really loves us. That he wants us with him in Heaven, so much so that he gave his only son to make us right with him. God can not look upon sin, and so he sent Jesus his only son to take on the sins of every man woman and child from the beginning to the end of time so that we can one day be with him in Heaven.
The skeptic can ask a million questions, and to that I say go get a bible. Sit down and read it, get a devotional, sit down and read it. It's all in there, every answer to every question to every need to every situation we can ever possibly encounter on earth the answer is there in the bible. The bottom line though is we were all created by God for his purposes. So we can run around from here to there trying to make our own way and wondering why things don't work out, or why some things are so easy for some people, and wondering... The only way to have peace and contentment is to plug into and connect into the one outlet we were only meant to charge from, our heavenly father. He is love.
What I really love about the story in real life is that little Colton is a teenager now and guess what?... he can sing. He and his family have a ministry called "Heaven Is for Real Ministries" where they do events to expose more people to message of hope. I heard this song and again, the message so simple, yet so very profound. He loves us, he really really loves us.
I challenge anyone to watch the film, listen to this song, read the bible and then look back on your life. He is there, he has always been there. It doesn't matter how far you've gone, you're never too far for his love to reach. You matter and he has a plan for you. You can feel him, it is just a matter of acknowledging him and answering the door to his knocking. This world and it's cares are only temporary, Heaven is for Real and it is forever.
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