I got a book from a Ninja and I think it changed my worldview. (Maybe I should explain a little better...)
Pam Lindsey (aka Ninja) gave me a copy of Edge of Eternity by Randy Alcorn recently. She said it was a great book that she really enjoyed, that she was reading it for the second time, and that if she did not have a Bible, she could derive all of the basic theology and doctrines of the Christian faith from this book in an understandable way. I have to admit, I was a skeptic. I am taking classes at school that are just now beginning to allow me to understand basic theological concepts and are introducing me to the foundational doctrines and the verses and traditions they are based upon, but I decided it was worth a shot...it wasn't like I was already reading any other books (<-lie...I was reading about ten other books!).
I will shy away from specifics so as not to ruin the surprises in the book to those who are interested in reading it. It is titled "Edge of Eternity" so it is fairly obviously about eternity and the events leading up to it. I was most impressed as I read the book at the descriptions of this life versus the coming life on the other side of eternity.
Some examples:
Life is the waiting room for the rest of eternity
The people who live on Earth live between Eden, a world that has ended, and Jerusalem, a world that hasn't yet begun.
Earth is the walkway between two kingdoms. Its most horrible nightmares are of Hell. Its most wondrous dreams are of Heaven.
Hell is the worst of Earth multiplied a thousand times; Heaven, the best of Earth multiplied a million times. Earth is a place to preview both, to sample each, to make the final unalterable choice between them.
God sends us into the short today and we stay until the long tomorrow.
Heaven is a trillion different colors, Hell only the eternal gray. All in Heaven are wonderfully different, united by their differences, while those in Hell are disturbingly similar, warring at their sameness.