Finally Home: The Christian Hope of Heaven

“The careful, thoughtful, and faithful life of the individual who has rooted his or her identity in Christ can be difficult. We live in the world but are not of it, and yet this world matters. Dane Ortlund carefully navigates the beauty of a life that desires eternity in the next while living a worthwhile life in the here and now. C. S. Lewis once wrote that if we find in ourselves a desire that no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world. Ortlund seems to have taken that sentiment and drawn a roadmap for valuing the world we find ourselves in while properly calibrating for the world to come.”

“Dane Ortlund’s book has swept my heart up and away to the vestibule of heaven. He is saying things I’ve never heard before and has given me so much to ask God about. Plus, his writing is so gentle and poetic, and each page urges me to turn to the next.”

“When Dane Ortlund writes, our sight grows sharper for the beauty of Christ. The excellencies of his worth are displayed concretely, viewed more clearly, felt more exquisitely. In Finally Home, Dane helps us see the next life as more than relief from suffering, the end of sin, or even our reunion with those we have lost. Life after death is about a person—Christ himself—overflowing with irrepressible joy to welcome us to an eternity of exploring grace. Let this book stir your longings for the happiness of that world. I needed that hope kindled again. Maybe you do too.”

“In Finally Home, Dane Ortlund has given me a deeply personal gift, one that has stirred my longing for heaven with fresh clarity and hope. At seventy-eight, I feel the nearness of stepping from death to life, and this book has made that transition even more eagerly anticipated. Rather than filling a book with his own imagination of heaven, Dane handles Scripture with precision, like a treasure hunter uncovering gems that illuminate eternity with Jesus. Now when I experience joy, my laughter will be even deeper because of how heaven will exponentially expand joy in eternity. I will return to this book again and again with journal, Bible, and pen in hand, especially in those times when this broken world and my aging body remind me that I don’t belong here; I am on my way home. This is a book that turns our homesickness in the right direction, reminding us that our tears here will give way to joy there and that in Christ, all our pain is preparing us for glory. It will be worth it all.”

“Some books about heaven explain; others intrigue. Rare is the book that induces a hunger for heaven—a real readiness to go home. Dane has given us such a book. In Finally Home, we have been gifted a book about heaven with writing worthy of its subject matter: beautiful poetry in prose, captivating and soul-stirring imagery, and pastoral warmth in application. It is truly my pleasure to commend this book to you.”

“Writing about heaven is different from writing about other Christian doctrines. Some books on the new heavens and the new earth are so imaginative and speculative that they become untethered from biblical reality. Others are not imaginative enough; they make lots of accurate statements but lack the fusion of poetry, consolation, metaphor, wonder, and joy that characterize the apostles and prophets. Finally Home, more than any other modern book I have read on the topic, gets the balance just right. It is clear, solid, robust, and orthodox, but it is also soaring, evocative, comforting, and beautiful. It will be my go-to book on heaven to recommend from now on.”