This isn't a "Christian" story. Jesus doesn't show up anywhere in it. It has little to do with God too. But it does have much truth in it.
The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a fable about a man who dies and then has his life explained to him by five different people who crossed his path at one point or another in his lifetime. Although the story is about death, it has more to do with life and how it's lived.
I thought this story would be a little like The Shack, where the reader gets a glorious glimpse of Heaven that has the potential to be life-changing. But it was nothing like that. Rather, this book was more like a quiet reassurance.
The truth in the story comes in five different lessons, the first one is that there are no accidents, no coincidences. Everything happens for a reason. The second lesson is about the meaning of sacrifice. The third lesson is about the importance of forgiveness--not so much for the other person, but for yourself. The fourth lesson is about the strength of love. I'm not totally sure what the last lesson is, but I think it has something to do with how important the little things are, like fixing rides at an amusement park may not be a very fulfilling job and it doesn't bring a whole lot of meaning to life, but it's a very important job because without someone doing it, all kinds of little people would die in horrible amusement park accidents. Either that, or the good things you do in life make up for the bad things ... but that's not so good or true, so I'll stick with my first thought.
This book tries to be one that comforts you before you die, tells you that everything will be okay, that what you've done with your life wasn't meaningless, that you were important to someone or to lots of someones. It tries to help you face death.
The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a fable about a man who dies and then has his life explained to him by five different people who crossed his path at one point or another in his lifetime. Although the story is about death, it has more to do with life and how it's lived.
I thought this story would be a little like The Shack, where the reader gets a glorious glimpse of Heaven that has the potential to be life-changing. But it was nothing like that. Rather, this book was more like a quiet reassurance.
The truth in the story comes in five different lessons, the first one is that there are no accidents, no coincidences. Everything happens for a reason. The second lesson is about the meaning of sacrifice. The third lesson is about the importance of forgiveness--not so much for the other person, but for yourself. The fourth lesson is about the strength of love. I'm not totally sure what the last lesson is, but I think it has something to do with how important the little things are, like fixing rides at an amusement park may not be a very fulfilling job and it doesn't bring a whole lot of meaning to life, but it's a very important job because without someone doing it, all kinds of little people would die in horrible amusement park accidents. Either that, or the good things you do in life make up for the bad things ... but that's not so good or true, so I'll stick with my first thought.
This book tries to be one that comforts you before you die, tells you that everything will be okay, that what you've done with your life wasn't meaningless, that you were important to someone or to lots of someones. It tries to help you face death.
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