Books on Eternity & Heaven

No one thinks about Heaven more than those who have imminent reasons to go there: grieving parents, children who miss their mom or dad, a widow or widower, and those with broken bodies, bitter relationships, and bent spirits buckling under the weight of this world.

Our hearts don't just long for our people, however. We were made to dwell with God, as evidenced throughout Scripture — from God walking with Adam and Eve in the pre-sin Garden of Eden to the tabernacle, God's literal tent of meeting that moved with the Israelites as they wondered in the wilderness. And the ultimate example is the coming of Jesus, who was the embodiment of Immanuel, God with us.

“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” —C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Among my to-be-read pile this year, I'm reading books based on my Word of the Year: Eternity. Find my book recommendations on Heaven below.

On Our Way Home: Reflections on Heaven in the Face of Death by Colleen Chao

"This is our comfort: The One who defeated death is the One who despises it most. He abhors the indescribable pain it inflicts on you and your loved ones-yet He is not at the mercy of it. The Conqueror is the Comforter."

This sweet author is a mom who's been battling terminal cancer for several years; she is now on hospice as I write this. Watching her faithfully trust the Lord with her family (her husband and 14-year-old son) and the numbering of her days has been hard and beautiful. Pray for her family.

Heaven: Your Real Home by Joni Eareckson Tada

I've been sporadically listening to this on audio for many months (it's long!), but I love that it's narrated by Joni herself. "In the early days of my paralysis...Heaven was the place I'd be freed from the pain. So it became an escape from reality, a psychological crutch.

At times, Heaven was so me-centered...the point was to get back all it owed me, all that I had lost...Time passed, and with it spiritual maturity, it gradually dawned on me that Heaven would be the day of Christ...not the day of Joni."

Heaven by Randy Alcorn

Gifted to me after my mother's death 15 years ago, I'm finally going to tackle this well-researched book! "The best of life on Earth is a glimpse of Heaven; the worst of life is a glimpse of Hell. For Christians, this present life is the closest they will come to Hell. For unbelievers, it is the closest they will come to Heaven."

The more we are familiar with something, the less we fear it. When we read the Bible, take time to look for glimpses of eternity and the promises that await us. We can endure with hope as our hearts beat with eternal anticipation.

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"I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand." John 10:28-29

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Philippians 3:20

But in keeping with God’s promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. 2 Peter 3:13

And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 1 John 2:28

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:1-5