Wednesday, October 8, 2008

The Shack


I finished reading The Shack by William Young and I must say that it was most definitely one of the strangest books I have ever read.  I love anything that is outside of the box and Young never even got close to the box in this story.  I am not experienced at the art of reviewing books so please pardon the informality of my opinions here.  


When I closed the book for the final time, I was moved more than anything by the deep sense of how much God loves me.  At one point in the book the character who was Holy Spirit spoke to Mack, the central character, and said, "To the degree that fears have a place in your life, you neither believe I am good nor know deep in your heart that I love you."  Wow...right between the eyes!  This is where I have found myself on more occasions that I care to admit.  I have grappled with the love of God my entire life and this story helped me get a picture of how much He really loves me.  Not a religious picture...a real picture.

Another important point this story makes is the wonderful intention God had for men and women and their unique relationship to each other when He created us.  The church has wrongly interpreted Scripture for so long that most people, particularly in the south, have no clue what marriage should really look like.  The emphasis on roles and heirarchy and headship completely misses the beautiful, mutually submitted dance that marriage, and all human relationships for that matter, should and can be.  I have been living it with my fantastic husband for twenty years and Young describes it perfectly in his story.

I love that Mack is pursued by God and then allowed to be completely himself in his quest to truly find God and see His heart.  Because the truth is that God loves who we are and He just wants us to pursue Him and discover who He really is and not what religion tells us He is.  Let the critics have their say...Iloved this story.  It sounded more like God and Heaven than 98% of what I have heard in church my whole life.

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