Review of the Book Between Heaven and Earth by Steve Berger

I received a copy of this book from Bethany House to review and I have to say it’s one of the best Christian books I’ve read in a long time. In fact I’m busy writing up a Sunday School lesson from it to teach a Women’s Bible Class.

When I started reading I thought the whole thing would be about what heaven is like and what we’ll be doing there. But that’s really a small part of it. Steve Berger’s focus is to get us to see what heaven will be like, yes, but so that it will change the way we view life here on earth. That knowing about heaven will get us to see our mission and the need for people to hear the gospel.

A phrase he uses over and over is “having our hearts in heaven, but our hands in the harvest.” He does share some of the beauty and glory of heaven and how focusing on it will lead us to a renewed faith, encouragement and a life that is full. He shows us why this heavenly mind-set matters today. That there are hundreds of opportunities to reach out to people in this broken world who are ready to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.

He writes, “When your heart is in heaven, you begin to see as Jesus saw. You’ll see people who have deep hurts and unmet needs who are desperate for a Savior. And you’ll be torn. You’ll desire to be in heaven and be a part of all that God has for you there, but at the same time you’ll see people who need your help here.

And he does a wonderful job telling us how to meet the need.