Important Quotes
"By the second afternoon, I saw something that terrified me: the shadow of death." (Burpo 26)
"What is childlike humility? It’s not the lack of intelligence, but the lack of guile. The lack of an agenda. It’s that precious, fleeting time before we have accumulated enough pride or position to care what other people might think. The same un-self-conscious honesty that enables a three-year-old to splash joyfully in a rain puddle, or tumble laughing in the grass with a puppy, or point out loudly that you have a booger hanging out of your nose, is what is required to enter heaven. It is the opposite of ignorance—it is intellectual honesty: to be willing to accept reality and to call things what they are even when it is hard." (Burpo 74-75)
“I learned that I didn’t have to offer some kind of churchy, holy-sounding prayer in order to be heard in heaven. 'You might as well tell God what you think,' I said. 'He already knows it anyway.' Most importantly of all, I learned that I am heard. We all are.” (Burpo 84)
"'Dad, nobody's old in heaven,' Colton said. 'And nobody wears glasses.'" (Burpo 121)
- This terrified Todd because he experiences it a lot being a pastor. "In a Hospital. A nursing home. A hospice." The 'shadow of death' was not something he had ever expected to see on his son's face. He sees it on those who are getting ready to depart from this life, not from those whom have just recently entered it.
"What is childlike humility? It’s not the lack of intelligence, but the lack of guile. The lack of an agenda. It’s that precious, fleeting time before we have accumulated enough pride or position to care what other people might think. The same un-self-conscious honesty that enables a three-year-old to splash joyfully in a rain puddle, or tumble laughing in the grass with a puppy, or point out loudly that you have a booger hanging out of your nose, is what is required to enter heaven. It is the opposite of ignorance—it is intellectual honesty: to be willing to accept reality and to call things what they are even when it is hard." (Burpo 74-75)
- Basically, Burpo is summarizing what it means to be as innocent as a child. Jesus said, "Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven." Therefore, Burpo creates a definition of childhood for his readers. The summary of Burpo's summary is this: don't over think things, have careless fun, don't be too busy, and be honest.
“I learned that I didn’t have to offer some kind of churchy, holy-sounding prayer in order to be heard in heaven. 'You might as well tell God what you think,' I said. 'He already knows it anyway.' Most importantly of all, I learned that I am heard. We all are.” (Burpo 84)
- The context of this passage is crucial to understand its meaning. Todd is preaching at this time, telling of one of his experiences with Colton knowing things he shouldn't have. Todd was in a room raging at God because God wasn't treating his pastor right. Colton had told his father that Jesus heard this rage and sent Colton back to life. Jesus had answered his prayers, even though they were harsh. This could have dual meanings, when you think about it. In one sense it could mean that even if you are upset and you don't voice your prayers, God will still hear them; on the other hand it means that God is always listening, even when you are rude and ungrateful.
- These words are very strong. They enter Todd's thoughts in a parking lot when Colton runs carelessly behind the parked cars. Todd and Sonja worry that with Colton's short stature, cars may not see him when backing up, so they always want Colton t be holding one of their hands. However, Colton was a 'ball of fire' back then, so he charged recklessly into the parking lot anyways. When Todd catches up to Colton, he uses a dead rabbit in the road as an example to scare him. The analogy doesn't phase Colton, however, because he is not the least bit afraid to get back to Heaven because he absolutely LOVED it.
"'Dad, nobody's old in heaven,' Colton said. 'And nobody wears glasses.'" (Burpo 121)
- Colton says these words to his dad when Todd is trying to spark a memory of Pop's facial features. But, Todd shows his son a more recent picture and Colton doesn't recognize the older version of the man he saw in Heaven. Colton's reaction to the picture was like a "duh, Dad" moment.
- A few pages later in this chapter (No One is Old in Heaven), Todd has some more wise words to say: "After we thought about it, though, the fact that the Pop Colton said he spent time with was no longer sixty-one but somewhere in his prime, seemed to us a good news/bad news scenario: The bad news is that in Heaven, we'll still look like ourselves. The good news is, it'll be the younger version." (Burpo 123)
- My main takeaway from this is that most people want to become someone new when they go to Heaven - to start over. They want to be angelic and beautiful. But, God already sees us as angelic and beautiful; that's why we all have wings in Heaven. (Burpo 72)