Steven Bowers reviews Remember Heaven by Matthew McCullough.
The key to this helpful book is in the subtitle. The author wants us to think through a series of truths relating to our heavenly future.
He concludes his introduction in this way: “…let me explain what sort of book on heaven this is. This is not a systematic breakdown of everything the Bible says about heaven. It is a series of meditations on how the Bible applies the hope of heaven to life in the meantime. I won’t tell you everything you may want to know about the world to come; I want to tell you what you need to know to live in hope now” (p.16).
Then in seven crisp, lively, enjoyable, Biblically rooted chapters helps us meditate on the fact that, since we are bound for fullness of joy, spotless righteousness, perfect holiness, untouchable security, no more pain, endless love and home together, we have a solid hope that can and should profoundly influence “life in the meantime”!
He argues that our dissatisfactions can be reframed, our feelings of inadequacy can be overcome, and our battle with sin empowered. He examines how our anxiety can be relieved, our suffering be meaningful and our grief bearable. He demonstrates that our hope of heaven sets the mission of the church. And he concludes, following a line familiar to readers of C.S. Lewis, by exploring “Why our longing for more makes all the sense in the world”.
I found chapter 6, “Bound for Endless Love”, particularly helpful on the delicate balance between hope and grief and our experience of both. This book is a little gem that sparkles with all kinds of insights reflecting the light of Scripture on so many facets of our future possession. If groaning for heaven is spiritual maturity, he asks: “Is this groaning a priority for your growth as a Christian? My goal in this book has been to convince you that it ought to be and, even more, to help you deepen that groaning day by day. If longing for heaven is crucial to growth, heavenly-mindedness is how we feed it. We use our minds to warm our hearts toward all that God has promised for our future. This is the work of faith for as long as Jesus tarries. And as we do this work, we should pray as Baxter prayed: “Help me desire until I may possess” (pp149,150). Maybe the author could give us a follow-up on Biblical insights into the New Heaven and Earth?
REMEMBER HEAVEN: Meditations on the World to Come for Life in the Meantime By Matthew McCullough
Crossway. 157pages. £11.99
ISBN 978 1 433 599 163
