Lately, as people continue to pass away that are close to me, I'm left wondering, worrying and hoping. I'm wondering if they were saved, accepted Christ as their personal savior and if they'll be going to Heaven or Hell. I worry that I might not ever see them again if they weren't saved, if they didn't go to Heaven. I worry about my future, if I'll be accepted into Heaven, I'm saved, but sometimes it seems to good to be true. God forgives us for any sins, ones we've commited, and ones we don't even know we'll be committing in the future, but God will be accepting us either way, just as long as in some point in our lives we accepted him as our personal savior. I'm hoping that the ones that were close to me were in fact saved and went to Heaven, and that my family, my mom, dad, and brothers will one day come to decide what their fate will be.
The book "90 Minutes in Heaven" always comforts me and leaves me with hope, ends my wondering, and gets rid of most of my worries.
The man in the book, Don Piper, is on his way home from a conference when he gets into a horrible car accident. As soon as medical help arrived they pronounced him dead at the scene, and for 90 minutes he was. In the traffic jam that Piper's accident caused there was a pastor. When the pastor heard that the man had died, he went to every car in the traffic jam and told them to pray, and the pastor himself prayed as well. For 90 minutes Piper experienced Heaven, and tells of the paradise it was, how his loved ones were there, there wasnt any pain, suffering or anything to worry about. Don Piper came back to life, and tells of his experience in Heaven and shares it with others to help bridge others to a secure after life.
Personally, I believe him, and find motivation as wells as hope and comfort in the words in his book. His story shows me the power of prayer. Praying brought him back to life, possibly something he didnt want to come back to, but with the power of prayer he was back, people who didnt even know him prayed for him. Now when I get frustrated with prayer, thinking its not worth it, I find myself doing it anyway. Just because I pray for something doesnt mean that its going to happen, it doesnt mean its going to prevent my loved ones from passing on, it doesnt make all my problems go away, but it gives me home and strength to continue on. In the story when he comes back to life, he obviously has a long road to recovery, with learning how to walk again, deal with broken bones, and a back, and God was there for him. Giving him strength to continue on, helping him achieve his goal. Ultimately, his story shows me that Heaven is real. That there really is something after this life. A life without suffering, worries, and being re-united with loved ones that accepted God as their savior.
I respect others opinions of this book, of their personal belief on after life, what they think of religion, or if they just dont have one at all. But for me "90 Minutes in Heaven" gives me hope, and makes me feel more secure.
An eternal life with a God who is always accepting? I'll be there.
An eternal life without suffering? I'll take it.
An eternal life with my loved ones who too, have accepted Christ as their savior? Yes, please.
An eternal life without worries, natural disasters, or pain? I'll take it.
"90 Minutes in Heaven" shows that these things are real, and just by reading a book, I can be set back on track with my faith.
I like this review because it puts you, your concerns, the book, and the book's concerns in the same pot and lets them mingle without any confusion at all.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read the book, but what surprises me in it as you describe it is the emphasis on prayer. I would have thought that John 3:16 is the beginning and end of questioning and that to pray to bring someone back from the dead is...unseemly? No one should expect or hope for more of a miracle than is promised in John 3:16. A resurrection is promised but not until the end of time and the Day of Judgement.
Putting it another way: prayer in the Protestant tradition, as I understand it, is for the living, not the dead.