Jasmine D. Taylor – Special to the Southern News
Spring 2014 seems to be the season for many Christian films. Movies such as ‘Noah,’ ‘Son of God,’ ‘God’s Not Dead,’ and ‘Heaven is For Real’ have all hit the box office recently. While all of these movies are inspirational, ‘Heaven is For Real’ captures the touching story of a little boy and exposes a wonderful message about faith.
‘Heaven is For Real’ takes the stage as being a triple treat. First of all, it’s based on a true story. Secondly, this is a New York Times best selling book. Over one million copies of the book have been sold. Lastly, the leading little man Colton Burpo, played by Connor Corum, is truly adorable throughout the movie.
The story takes place in a small town where parents Todd and Sonja Burpo have two children named Colton and Cassie. Todd is a preacher of the local Christian church, and begins to question his beliefs after Colton suffers a near death experience. During the movie, Colton was rushed into emergency surgery due to a ruptured appendix. It was unknown if Colton would survive, but he miraculously survived in his poor condition.
After the near death experience, Colton begins revealing bits and pieces of his ordeal. He claims to have had an out of body experience and traveled to heaven. No one took 4-year-old Colton seriously until he started to reveal things that he has never been told. He revealed he met his sister who died at birth, and his grandfather, and described Heaven as a more beautiful version of earth. The movie also added in a splash of humor when Colton asked the angels to sing ‘We Will Rock You;’ definitely not a song you would sing in the Heavens.
It took courage and a lot of faith for Todd to stand up in front of his congregation and the world to share this story. Todd received a lot of scrutiny. A psychologist told him his son was experiencing hallucinations. There were many whispers around town, and his wife tells him that Colton simply has a wild imagination. I found it intriguing how anything unknown was feared. Just like in real life, you have to see to believe.
As Resurrection Sunday recently passed, we know there were many who doubted Jesus would arise on the third day. People tend to think that death is permanent. They feel there is no life after death. Colton teaches us in such a calm and beautiful way that there is life after death in his opinion. Heaven is where we go to celebrate life with God. Colton explains we reconnect with our loved ones, and experience a life where there are only beautiful bright colors, no aging, angels singing, and God reassuring his children not to have fear, to only trust him.
The movie makes you test your faith. Things we cannot see for ourselves, we tend to believe are not true. Jesus had to do miracles to get people to believe in him. Colton had to bring facts to his parents that only they knew to make them believe that heaven is for real. Sometimes we have to walk on faith, and believe in things we have yet to experience.
Whether you are religious or not, I recommend this movie to anyone because it appeals to a wide variety of people. This beautifully filmed movie shares one family’s inspirational story on how you cannot be afraid to doubt the unknown, trust in your own personal faith, and live life to the fullest. Definitely a heart-warming film!
