Near-death experience led to heaven's door - Winnipeg Free Press
The following excerpt is from Winnipeg Free Press:
WHILE on a family road trip in 2003, a small-town Nebraska boy just shy of four years old survived a brush with death made all the more maddening by how preventable it was.
A simple case of appendicitis took a malevolent turn when medical miscalls, parental errors in judgment and the vagaries of winter travel conditions lead to Colton Burpo suffering a rupture and rampant infection.
Heaven Is for Real, by Colton's father, Todd, a Baptist preacher,
In conversation, Colton starts to drop the names of some remarkable religious figures, saying that he had met them in heaven during the moments he was nearest to taking his last breath.
Todd, a pastor at a Nebraska Wesleyan church, wonders about his son's otherworldly comments that pop up in the midst of otherwise normal little-boy chatter.
Colton goes on to describe meeting Jesus's cousin, John the Baptist, and knowing that Colton could not possibly have had prior knowledge of the experiences and people he describes, interprets the situation as a calling.
"We'd been given a gift and our job now was to unwrap it, slowly, carefully, and see what was inside."
From this point forward, Todd faithfully presents a complete record of Colton's visit to heaven, as revealed to him in a naturally unfolding conversation over the course of months.
The Burpos' middle child (his younger brother was not born until 2005), Colton reveals that he has travelled extensively throughout heaven, meeting dearly departed family members, and luminaries of the faithful, including God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Todd is even able to report to Catholic friends that Colton "saw Mary kneeling before the throne of God and at other times standing beside Jesus."
For believers who like to share the Good News, Heaven Is For Real is manna in a couple of ways. For the Christian-centred family, the book is perfect to share and discuss around the dinner table as a means to grow and deepen faith.
Read More: Heaven is for Real
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