Shocked by ‘The Shack’

by Tami Rudkin
Tuesday, June 24, 2008 2:16 PM MDT

I looked down, and what I saw shocked me. I staggered over to the towel rack, gasped and about fell over.

I whispered under my breath, “No way … that has to be wrong.” But I couldn’t look again … it might just do me in to know it was the truth.

I left the room, and the scale, never to return.

When was the last time something took your breath away? When was the last time that you shook your head in amazement and had to pick your jaw up off the floor because something or someone just blew your preconceived ideas about reality out of the water?

Recently someone recommended a book by a man who is not well known. He’s just a regular guy with a fantastic, out of this world intuition of God.

As I began to read this fiction story, I wasn’t all that impressed. It’s the story of a heartbreak that I’m not sure I could withstand, but the actual writing style didn’t necessarily grab me.

That is until the author introduced God. And, then I had one of those moments I described earlier, except that I laughed.

I laughed because I enjoyed the picture of God. It was brilliant and poignant and like nothing I had ever, ever read.

I have now read the book three times. I have underlined, highlighted and sticky noted until the book looks more like a college textbook than a devoured novel.

What I found in these pages is a fresh look at a God who seems to be such a mystery to most of us, most of the time.

It is not a book for the faint hearted or the rigid of mind and spirit.

In many ways, the tale told is shocking, and some might describe it as disturbing.

I have to admit, it’s both because it messes with my well-thought-out, Sunday school preaching-formed belief system.

Although I will concede that both of my grandmothers, who were pastors’ wives (and ordained pastors), would have loved this book.

They instilled in me a love for a God like the one described here … they just didn’t use these same kind of images.

OK. This has turned out to be a book review of “The Shack” by William P. Yong. However, let me leave you with just a few quotes that I love.

But please don’t judge the book by these quotes, as they must be in context to be completely appreciated.

“Ah, that is the risk of faith, Mack. Faith does not grow in the house of certainty. I am not here to tell you that Nan will forgive you. Perhaps she won’t or can’t, but my life inside of you will appropriate risk and uncertainty to transform you by your own choices into a truth teller, and that will be a miracle greater than raising the dead.”

Another is, “Those who love me come from every system that exists. They are Buddhists or Mormons, Baptists or Muslims, Democrats, Republicans and many who don’t vote or are not part of any Sunday morning … I have followers who were murderers and many who were self-righteous … I have no desire to make them Christian, but I do want to join them in their transformation of my Papa, into my brothers and sisters, into my Beloved.”

“Does that mean,” asked Mack, “that all roads will lead to you?”

“Not at all,” smiled Jesus … “What it does mean is that I will travel any road to find you.”

Love it, love it. I could go on. I have journaled pages of life-changing thoughts that I have pondered about Papa (God) because of “The Shack.”

May I encourage you to do the same?

(Larry and Linda Kloster sponsor this column.)

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