The Shack

 The Shack by Wm. Paul Young.

A man's world is forever changed when his daughter is murdered. Evidence suggests it happened in a shack in the back woods. Four years later the man, Mack, returns to the shack and has a conversation with God. Sounds hokey. I know. And yet, I found myself racing through the pages.

Growing up Catholic I went to catechism and church. I learned about God and the Catholic faith. I was told to believe. And I did. But I don't remember hearing much, if anything, about spirituality and if I did, I certainly didn't understand what it was. The Shack is about both spirituality and religion, but mostly it is about love.

My favorite exchange is between Mack and Jesus (page 184). Jesus is the first speaker.


          "Who said anything about being a Christian? I'm not Christian." 


          The idea struck Mack as odd and unexpected, and he couldn't keep himself from grinning. "No, I suppose you aren't."


          They arrived at the door of the workshop. Again, Jesus stopped. "Those who love me have come from every system that exists. They were Buddhists or Mormons, Baptisits or Muslims; some are Democrats, some Republicans and many don't vote or are not part of any Sunday morning or religious institutions. I have followers who were murderers and many who were self-righteous. Some are bankers and bookies, Americans and Iraqis, Jews and Palestinians. I have no desire to make them Christian, but I do want to join them in their transformation into sons and daughters of my Papa, into my brothers and sisters, into my Beloved."

For me the aftermath of this read has been the best part. I feel a bit of calm when I think about the bigger picture and I am not as stressed about finding "something" to believe in. I definitely recommend the read.

* I will say that there was a part when Mack first got to the shack that started to seem WAY to far fetched for my liking, and as I debated putting the book away, I flipped to the After Words and read the first paragraph. It gave me enough insight that I was able to buy into what was going on in the story.



Comments

  1. I found it to be an interesting read. The one thing that sticks with me is how when Mack first meets God, God is a black woman (I think...) which reminded me of the oracle from the Matrix :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ooooh, I have been looking for a good read for a while now, and will definitely pick this one up on our trip to the library on Wednesday!!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Another embarassing one

Guest Post Luke: Men at Ikea

Calder