Things Unseen: Living in Light of Forever [Paperback]

Mark Buchanan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 13, 2006

Blending pastoral warmth, philosophical depth, storytelling skill, and literary craft, Mark Buchanan encourages Christians to make heaven, literally, our "fixation" -- filling our vision, gripping our heart, and anchoring our hope. Only then, says Buchanan, can we become truly fearless on this earth, free from the fear of losing our life, property, status, title, or comfort; free from the threat of tyrants, the power of armies, and the day of trouble. Buchanan reawakens the instinctive yearning for things above, showing that only the heavenly minded are of much earthly good.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A popular adage dictates that those who are heavenly minded are of no earthly good. Buchanan, a pastor and freelance writer, begs to differ. He convincingly demonstrates that unless Christians cling to the hope of the hereafter with a grip so fierce and purposeful that everything else dims in comparison, they will become so earthly minded that they are of no heavenly good. Buchanan (Your God Is Too Safe) writes with persuasive elegance as he implores fellow Christians to "fixate" on the promise of heaven. This stance will do more than get believers through the humdrum monotony of life; it will energize and excite them to face inevitable tragedies with more than mere resignation. Says Buchanan, "We fix on it [heaven], and it fixes us." A heavenly compulsion, he writes, will alter one's own vantage point and also transform the world in which Christians find themselves. Buchanan details how God uses the trivial, the boring and the tame to transform Christians from the inside out. As they quietly go about their daily business, faithful to the vocation to which they're called, believers are slowly changed. Buchanan exposes a pastor's heart as he painstakingly explores difficult topics through the lens of heaven. Generous, heartrending anecdotes expose Buchanan's own disappointments and the trials of loved ones, but always within the hopeful and eternal context of heaven. Written to exhort, encourage and bolster his fellow Christians' faith, Buchanan's book hits the mark with finely turned phrases that make reading this a joy.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Mark Buchanan is a pastor and freelance writer/editor who lives with his wife, Cheryl, and three children on the west coast of Canada. Educated at the University of British Columbia and Regent University, he has been published in numerous periodicals, including Christianity Today and Books and Culture.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Multnomah Books (April 13, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590528832
• ISBN-13: 978-1590528839
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #289,160 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I began my career as a writer at age 12 - the year a remarkably creative grade 5 teacher awakened in me the possibilities of language and story. I eventually took a degree in writing, but that was simply to refine and hone what I felt compelled to do anyways, whether well or poorly, paid or unpaid, appluaded or scorned.

I ended up, enroute to being a published author, a pastor. My seven books (the 7th is due out February 2012) have so far all come out of that world - though watch in early 2013 for a novel. (For the record, I'm not the Mark Buchanan who writes science books).

I enjoy hearing from readers, even when they take issue with something I've written. It lets me know that, at least, the line hasn't gone dead at that end.

Thanks for being one of those readers, even if only in this instance.

Mark Buchanan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Sight, April 15, 2003

By 

Eric Wilson "novelist" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Things Unseen: Living in Light of Forever (Paperback)

Before this, I was unfamiliar with Mark Buchanan's writing. In fact, having received this book as a gift, I took my time getting around to it.

Too bad. Buchanan's writing is smooth and beautiful. He weaves words with rare skill, communicating deep thoughts with sparkling threads of sentences. Quickly, we are wrapping ourselves in these thoughts. He reminds us that heaven is our goal, that we are not intended for ultimate fulfilment on this earth but for a celestial culmination in God's presence.

Ah, the warmth of it all. Except...

Except that Buchanan does not only encourage us for the hereafter, he challenges us in the here and now. His threads, so warm and comforting, become earthy and gritty clothing by which we march on into each day with a purpose. This is what makes "Things Unseen" so moving. The book demands that we realign our perspective. Buchanan tears down our facades and tells us to be so earthly minded that we are of some heavenly good.

I was inspired and convicted by the truths in these pages. Heaven is real...What a beautiful sight! And what a source of motivation for our lives here on earth.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mark Buchanan has a gift...., August 28, 2004

By 

Love Story (TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Things Unseen: Living in Light of Forever (Paperback)

Mr. Buchanan certainly has a gift with words. This was the first book I picked up by him, and I am blessed to have found it. He writes on such a personal level, bringing so much to light, clarification of scriptures at it's greatest. It was hard for me to put this book down. Mr. Buchanan has a lot of wonderful things to say, and I admit, I learned a lot from this book. I have since read another of his books, YOUR GOD IS TOO SAFE, and found that just as gripping and inspiring. This man was truly born to write about God and give others an understanding about our Lord God. God bless you and your family Mark. I thank God for your writing, writing that has given me a greater understanding.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Christian non-fiction, March 7, 2003

By 

Detra Fitch (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Things Unseen: Living in Light of Forever (Paperback)

This life is only temporary. There is a world beyond it, a better one, called Heaven, which we all long for deep in our spirits. That is the main message of this book.

No matter what faith you adhere to, there is the constant longing for more life, but also the longing to go beyond this one, for something more. We seek miracles and other things in endless quests to discover a piece of that in the here and now. Even as we dread death, we long for it, for passage beyond this life into eternity. With that in mind, we should reguard all that is here as temporary, therefore, both more and less important. It is more important because the things that are good are only momentary and can disappear with no warning, yet less important because they are so. Therefore, the painful, irratating, bad things are to be taken as just a brief trial that is refining us for the Kingdom of God.

Citing both the Bible and popular media, the author clarifies these and other points in an insightful, easy to understand book that will appeal to a broad range of readers. It is comforting, yet thought provoking and should make the essential library shelf of both Christians and philosophers of any faith.