It has been my experience that people who have read The Shack by William P. Young* – or at least proport to have read it – either find it to be wonderful or terrible.  I find it to be a wonderful and thought provoking book and I am puzzled by some who find it inappropriate or intensely dislike it for some reason.

I am regularly concerned about the ways we attempt to make God in our own image rather than happily living as createds in God’s image, and I find numerous words in Young’s book which have been helpful in enlarging my understanding of God and becoming more realistic about the finiteness of humanity.

The following are some of the sections that I read and read again:

“People are tenacious when it comes to the treasure of their imaginary independence.  They hoard and hold their sickness with a firm grip.  They find their identity and worth in their brokenness and guard it with every ounce of strength they have.  No wonder grace has such little attraction.” (189)

“There are many folk . . . who end up locking themselves into a very small place with a monster that will ultimately betray them, that will not fill or deliver what they thought it would.  Imprisoned with such a terror, they once again have the opportunity to return to me.  The very treasure they trusted in will become their undoing.” (189)

“All evil flows from independence, and independence is your choice.  If I were to simply revoke all the choices of independnce, the world as you know it would cease to exist and love would have no meaning.  This world is not a playground where I keep all my children free from evil.  Evil is the chaos of this age that you brought to me, but it will not have the final say.  Now it touches everyone that I love, those who follow me and those who don’t.  If I take away the consequences of people’s choices, I destroy the possibility of love.  Love that is forced is no love at all.” (190)

“My purposes are not for my comfort, or yours.  My purposes are always and only an expression of love.  I purpose to work life out of death, to bring freedom out of brokenness and turn darkness into light.  What you see as chaos, I see as a fractal.” (191)

In the next post we will continue our consideration of fractals.  I hope you will join in the conversation.  Grace and peace.