The Shack

A couple of weeks ago I was talking to my aunt and in the conversation she mentioned a book, The Shack. She said that she has enjoyed reading it and the character Mack reminded her of me/my past, (if anyone knows me then they know if it has to do something with my past then it is a good read...Soap Opera anyone?) Since it was a passing comment I didn't think too much about the book until one of my friends from facebook mentioned in her status that she had been crying and felt sick after reading chapter 4 of this book. Well, well lots of drama, tears and sickness sounds like a hormonally good book to read, so off to Amazon to purchase I did. It finally arrived 2 weeks ago and I skipped to chapter 4...Just kidding I did it right, what is drama without the back drop of the story?! Little by little I have been reading this book every night, (still reading it) and I don't have this overwhelming sense to tell everyone to go buy it. Don't get me wrong I like the book, but in the midst of the story I found myself feeling a little emotionally beat up. Not for the faint of heart at all, but it is thought provoking and gives a different viewpoint of the Trinity then I was taught. It is very "out of the box" thinking, which is always welcoming and reminds me of the one picture I had of Jesus smiling.

Side Note: Why does Jesus have to be all business in his pictures? Why can't he be portrayed as a laughing, smiling man too? I have never understood this! I wished we had more pictures of my tender, sweet Jesus smiling. There is just something that soothes the soul knowing he smiles and laughs. I can't tell you how many times after my father died that I imagined dad telling a funny story of something he did while he was younger and Jesus slapping my dad on the back, smiling and saying "that was hilarious".

Back to my main topic:

This "out of the box" thinking has given me some things to think about or things to remember. Since this is a journal of my life I am going to share them.

God, who by the way is a big black woman (love it) is talking to Mack about the Crucifixion and the Trinity.

"Don't ever think that what my son chose to do didn't cost us dearly. Love always leaves a significant mark," she stated softly and gently. "We were there together".
Mack was surprised. "At the cross? Now wait, I thought you left him-you know-'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"' It was a Scripture that had often haunted Mack in the The Great Sadness.
"You misunderstand the mystery there. Regardless of what he felt at that moment, I never left him."
"How can you say that? You abandoned him just like you abandoned me!"
"Mackenzie, I never left him, and I have never left you."
"That makes no sense to me," he snapped.
"I know it doesn't, at least not yet. Will you at least consider this: When all you can see is your pain, perhaps then you lose sight of me?" (Pg. 96)

Can you say Wow? If you were taught like I was it was always stated that Jesus was so full of sin that God did turn away at that moment. To me the above makes more sense of God's character then what I was taught.

Continue of the conversation...talking about Jesus healing people.

"So, when he healed the blind?"
"He did so as a dependent, limited human being trusting in my life and power to be at work within him and through him. Jesus, as a human being, had no power within himself to heal anyone."
That became a shock to Mack's religious system.
"Only as he rested in his relationship with me, and in our communion-our co-union-could he express my heart and will into any given circumstance. So, when you look at Jesus and it appears that he's flaying, he really is...flying. But what you are actually seeing is me; my life in him. That's how he lives and acts as a true human, how every human is designed to live-out my life." (Pg. 100)

Now Mack is talking to Jesus about the chain of command amongst the Trinity.

"I am talking about who's in charge. Don't you have a chain of command?"
"Chain of command? That sounds ghastly!" Jesus said.
"At least binding," Papa (God).....
"Mackenzie, we have no concept of final authority among us, only unity. We are in a circle of relationship, not a chain of command or 'great chain of being' as your ancestors termed it. What you're seeing here is a relationship without any overlay of power. We don't need power over the other because we are always looking out for the best. Hierarchy would make no sense among us. Actually, this is your problem, not ours."
"Really? How so?"
"Humans are so lost and damaged that to you it is almost incomprehensible that people could work or live together without someone being in charge...It's one reason why experiencing true relationship is so difficult for you," Jesus added. "Once you have hierarchy you need rules to protect and administer it, and then you need law and the enforcement of the rules, and you end up with some kind of chain of command or a system of order that destroys relationship rather than promotes it. You rarely see or experience relationship apart from power. Hierarchy imposes laws and rules and you end up missing the wonder of relationship that we intended for you." (Pg. 123)

Only a few more cool passages hang in there I know it is a lengthy post.

Mack is talking to Jesus in a garden asking questions we all would like to ask to a certain degree.

"If you had not told me this was safe to touch, would have it poisoned me?"
"Of course! But if I direct you to touch, that is different. For any created being, autonomy is lunacy. Freedom involves trust and obedience inside a relationship of love. So, if you are not hearing my voice, it would be wise to take the time to understand the nature of the plant."
"So why create poisonous plants at all?" Mack queried, handing back the twig.
"Your question presumes that poison is bad; that such creations have no purpose. Many of these so-called bad plants, like this one, contain incredible properties for healing or are necessary for some of the most magnificent wonders when combined with something else. Humans have a great capacity for declaring something good or evil, without truly knowing." (Pg. 132)

Finally, the Holy Spirit and Mack are talking in the garden.

"Mackenzie, evil is a word we use to describe the absence of Good, just as we use the word darkness to describe the absence of Light or death to describe the absence of Life. Both evil and darkness can only be understood in relation to Light and Good; they do not have any actual existence. I am Light and I am Good. I am Love and there is no darkness in me. Light and Good actually exist. So, removing yourselves from me will plunge you into darkness. Declaring independence will result in evil because apart from you, you can only draw upon yourself. That is death because you have separated yourself from me: Life."
"Wow," Mack exclaimed, sitting back for a moment. "That really helps. But, I can also see that giving up my independent right is not going to be an easy process. It could mean that..."
Sarayu interrupted his sentence again. "...that in one instance, the good my be the presence of cancer or the loss of income-or even a life."
"Yeah, but tell that to the person with cancer or the father whose daughter is dead, "...
"Don't you think we have them in mind as well? Each of them was the center of another story that is untold." (Pg. 136)

That is all I have for the moment. I sure hope the passages make sense without reading the book, if not that must have been a long boring post for ya. For me those passages brought the, "oh, wow, now that makes sense," or the "light bulb moment." If these little excerpts kindle curiosity then I encourage you to buy the book. Just remember that even though it is a very easy read it is also emotional and thought prodding.

Either way, let me know what you think about the passages. I will be curious to hear the feedback.

Happy Reading!