I was very touched by this thoughtful and humble letter that a reader named Mark sent us, which we’re sharing with his permission:

Dear Mr. Alcorn,

I’m writing to thank you for writing the book Heaven. 

I was born and raised in a pretty strict Southern Baptist home. My earliest memories were being in church or attending a church function as my parents and grandparents are born again Christians. I learned early in life that being saved by the blood of Jesus and repenting your sins, asking Him to be my savior was the only way to Heaven and the alternative was Hell. I didn’t want to go to Hell. At 15 years of age, I accepted Christ to be my personal savior. All the years attending church, listening to sermons and Sunday school classes, attending large groups or small groups—I learned about the different events that took place that we read in the Bible, but I honestly can say that I’ve never learned anything about Heaven other than it will be magnificent and Hell will be horrible. I must embarrassingly admit that I was one of those people who wondered what we would be doing in Heaven for eternity. I would think, are we going to be floating on a cloud, playing harps, and singing Kumbaya all day?

I’m embarrassed to say, I just don’t read that well. And when I try to read, I get distracted easily and read a paragraph and not know what I just read. Because of this, I haven’t read a book in several decades. I honestly can’t remember the last time I read a book from cover to cover. I struggle with reading the Bible and understanding what God is trying to teach, or understand parables. My desire to learn of late led me to purchase an NIrV Edition Bible. Even though it’s a third-grade level Bible, it has helped me tremendously in understanding what I’ve just read. My wife is a great reader and loves the Lord, and has followed Jack Hibbs for several years now. During one of his Sunday morning sermons, he promoted your book. My wife, Dana, ordered the book and talked about it. 

I had so many questions about Heaven and was too embarrassed to admit that when the book arrived, I really wanted to start reading it. Once I started, I didn’t want to put it down. It took me a few weeks to read the entire book and at times I must admit, I’d check your Bible references to make sure you knew what you were talking about. There were times I would laugh at some of the things you wrote that were funny and several times I found myself in tears as I was seriously convicted (and I’m not an emotional person). I read your book from cover to cover and enjoyed and understood every page. It has made me excited about Heaven and what awaits us, what’s been promised to us. I have told several people about your book, including my sisters, sisters-in-law, my mother, my mother-in-law, my brother, and friends. It has changed my perspective, and I want to share even more.

Thank you again, sir, for this book. I doubt I will ever meet you on this earth, but someday I look forward to meeting you on the New Earth and shaking your hand and thanking you in person.

I replied to Mark: No need to apologize at all for anything. Good for you that you persevered to read a book that you knew would be challenging, but you read it anyway and profited from it. You’re very welcome for the Heaven book—it was a lot of work, but it was my pleasure to serve the body of Christ and people like you. God bless you. I couldn’t be happier for you, brother, and I thank you for your kind letter. I look forward to meeting you in a far better world. Let’s have a good talk then!