I had never heard of this book until this past Sunday. One of my church members said to me after the service, “there is a book I just read and wanted you to have it but I left it at home.” She was so convinced I should read it that she went home and retrieved the book and brought it back to me. That was Sunday morning and here I am Tuesday morning having finished the book. It is amazing to me that I am going to preach on the following scripture text this Sunday morning.
2 Corinthians 12: 1-10 NLT
This boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord.2 I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. 3 Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know 4 that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.
5 That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. 6 If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, 7 even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.
8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Let me state up front that I believe Scripture to be the source of truth that God has given to us as humans to understand our lives here on earth and out future life in eternity. I do not need more proof that heaven exists. With that said, this is a GREAT read.
Dr. Eben Alexander’s story is worth reading for many reasons. His life story, being adopted, and all of the things he dealt with because of his feelings of being given away and then finally being reunited with his biological family, this story alone is worth reading. However, his story is quite similar in many ways to Paul’s experience in 2 Corinthians. Paul stated that he didn’t really know whether he was in or out of his body, Dr. Alexander knew that he was having an out-of-body experience because of his grave illness. By the way he survived an illness that few people ever live to tell about.
Religious people will read this book and condemn it off the cuff. Correction, religious people will hear about the book and never read it and condemn it off the cuff. As Christians we are so good at missing the point.
I would love to read in the book that Dr. Alexander had his experience and met Jesus and they had a grand conversation where everyone was convinced that we are to get back to the business of telling the world about Jesus but that’s not what happened in the book. As a thinking person though I have taken so much from this book. There are so many things we can learn from Dr. Alexander’s experience, if we will just read it and think without condemning because everything we have been taught, studied, and believed is not exactly in line with Dr. Alexander’s experience.
Dr. Alexander is sharing what happened to him, he is now convinced from that experience that heaven exists. I have no idea what he believes about Jesus and only one way to heaven. Matter of fact, I hope to learn these things because I feel a great draw to Eben and what he was allowed to see. I don’t have any reason after reading this book to change what I believe about God, heaven, the truth of the Bible, that Jesus is the way to heaven, or anything else. But I can say that this book has enhanced my understanding of the spiritual world and our eternal life.
Maybe someday I will get the opportunity to meet Dr. Alexander, I have students at Liberty University and it would be great to sit around the table with Dr. Alexander and my students and have some good fellowship, conversation, and a good meal.
I recommend it, it is a quick read and thought-provoking.
Ronnie
Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book.
“We taint God, His truly awesome nature with our insufficient descriptions.” Eben Alexander
“Most of what people have had to say about God has involved bringing Him down to our level, rather than elevating our perceptions up to His.” Eben Alexander
“Most skeptics aren’t really skeptics at all. To be truly skeptical one must examine something, and take it seriously.” Eben Alexander M.D.
“The physical side of the universe is as a speck of dust compared to the invisible and spiritual part.” Eben Alexander
