Life is difficult. For some, life is terribly cruel. In an honest lament after losing his firstborn, author Cameron Cole writes about the need for hope by cultivating a heavenward perspective of life. Linking personal experience with Scriptural teachings, he describes what heavenward means, who the book is for, and some ways to live with heavenly thoughts while on earth. Written in three sections, Section One begins with a description of what "heavenward" means for the Apostle Paul and for the rest of us. Using Paul as an example, Cole shows us from the Bible how heaven-mindedness transforms Paul's entire life. From Paul, Cole then moves to what it means in our present world. In top-down, we let the love of God from above motivate our earthly living. In bottom-up, he links earthly circumstances with a perspective of heavenward mindset. Another heavenward posture is through waiting.

Section Two looks at five different factors affecting Paul's heavenly outlook. The first is about seeing the coming of the Kingdom with Christ as the centre. The second is a powerful take on how the way to transform conventional earthly living with heavenward earthly living. Whether on earth or in heaven, we can live that eternity perspective and that changes everything. The third points moves this further along toward a target: Jesus. Heaven is less about a material place but more about that spiritual union with Christ. The fourth takes us even deeper toward seeing God for who He is. This glorious outlook is beyond understanding. Finally, the power of the Holy Spirit moves us to become heavenward people.

Section Three shows us five benefits when we adopt a heavenward perspective and attitude toward life. These benefits comprise of contentment, sanctification, hope, service, and courage. Cole puts these in concrete terms so that we can visualize them. Contentment keeps us from rushing after all the latest and the greatest fads or trends. Sanctification means we live a new life now by resisting temptations and to recognize we are set apart in Christ. Hope brings not just relief from the present struggles but an assurance that things we can trust God for the fulfilling of His will. Service puts everything into practice to serve rather than to be served. Finally, a heavenward perspective will bear the fruit of a fearless attitude toward death and dying.

My Thoughts
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Let me share three thoughts about this book. First, it brings us down to earth to live heavenly. Just like the Lord's Prayer where we pray God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we are able to move forward without fear. In living heavenly, I am reminded of the two different spirituality of living heaven on earth. Richard Rohr calls them a "bias toward reflection" and a "bias toward action." the former is an Ignatian or Jesuit spirituality, which is essentially a Top-Down spirituality that lets the vision of heaven motivate our way of living. The latter is the Franciscan Bottom-Up spirituality that takes a "bias toward action." Such a spirituality takes after the practice of St Francis who asks God what he should do, then takes the Scripture at its Word, and then do it. This book does not explicitly state which type is adopted but I tend to believe that tilts more toward Jesuit spirituality. Whatever it is, the focus of heavenward is key to both.

Second, this book crystallizes what hope is all about. What can one do when life hits us badly? One could look back and lament about the "good old days." Or one could soak it up in the present with a constant plea to God, like the psalmist to say "How long?" (Ps 13:1-2) Another option is to look forward in hope with heavenly thoughts. For many people, they are simply too busy to think about life after death. In our day and age, one of the most feared things in life is growing old and the downward spiral of the consequences of aging. Without hope, one might even decide to end his life early. With hope, one will grow to trust God honestly while serving God earnestly.

Finally, this book is a necessary wake-up call for all believers who claim that there is a heaven. CS Lewis once said, "Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither." We need such a wake-up call. For Cole, the wake-up call is sadly driven by the loss of his son. Thankfully, he has lived on graciously and sharing his experience with the rest of us. Like many of the famous writers who wrote powerful books and treatises after enduring great challenges, Cole is another of these noble individuals. I think of Elisabeth Elliot, Walter Wangerin Jr, Jerry Sittser, etc, who all wrote out of grief and suffering. It was the hope in Jesus that remains the cornerstone of faith and hope. Cole has given us a book with a heavenward perspective who essentially draws on the same two virtues of faith and hope. We need to wake up to the reality of heaven and not to live as if heaven does not exist. When we do that, we can indeed move the community we live in, and perhaps even the world.

Cameron Cole (MA, Wake Forest University) is the director of children, youth, and family at Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama, and the founder of Rooted, a ministry dedicated to fostering gospel-centered student ministry. He is the author of Therefore I Have Hope: 12 Truths That Comfort, Sustain, and Redeem in Tragedy, and the coeditor of Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry and The Jesus I Wish I Knew in High School.

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Crossway Publishers via NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

Heavenward is mainly the author's attempt at providing a look at how his life has shifted heavenward after the sudden and tragic loss of his son. While I did enjoy the parts of this booked that offered a unique view of the theology the author presented as how Paul's life matched a heavenward outlook, a lot detracted from my enjoyment of the book and what I got out of it. This is a talented author and he does a great job at explaining complex concepts and making them understandable. He also is vulnerable and authentic when it comes to sharing his story. I found that some verses he used to make his points were rather casually applied. I couldn't quite make the same connection as him when referencing what he was referencing in the Bible, which is difficult for a book of this nature that relies on that. Often times I felt like he used very similar language and concepts quite regularly and it got a little too repetitive. A more focused approach on this concept of Paul and how this author's personal journey reflected that would have been better for me personally. I found it distracting to try to fit very shallow and quick looks at a lot of problems with our culture, church, faith, sin struggles, etc. Certain event comparisons like the use of how slaves looked heavenward, albeit well sourced from authors who had more direct knowledge of events, felt misplaced from this author and not effective in the messaging. Overall, I would recommend for someone looking for a very basic summary of how Paul's ministry looks towards heaven, especially in his letters to churches, but not much beyond that.