The Shack

So I just finished “The Shack”, and per the author’s suggestion, decided to Blog my thoughts about it.

First of all, this is not a SPOILER review. I just want to address the major themes, and attempt to tackle some of the negative controversy surrounding this book.

Ok, let’s get started by stating the obvious. It’s a book of Fiction. I’ve seen several posts where people are attacking the Theology of this book. I don’t think the author is attempting to solve any great theological debate; just someone saying, “God reached down and touched me, and here’s how it feels”.

The second biggest complaint is the supposed trivialization of the Godhead, and how they are depicted. OK, once again just to clarify, this is a work of fiction. However, at what length would Jesus not go to reach out and re-establish relationship with His creation?

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant,being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross!

Philippians 2:6-8

Now, to get back to what this book is about. It’s about forgiveness, redemption, and most of all…relationship; the kind of relationship that God longs for with His creation.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.”

Matthew 23:37

The kind of relationship depicted here, a place of warmth, safety, comfort, and complete peace. The kind of relationship that Luke describes for us at the end of Chapter 10, where Jesus is relishing in the time spent with Mary, just sitting back, sharing, and being in the moment. So many Christians today are just like Martha, where they are so busy about the doing, that they forget about the being.

Now don’t get me wrong. Obedience and action are very important, and necessary for the furtherance of God’s kingdom. But, obedience that stems out of relationship, not obedience in an attempt to gain it.

We busy ourselves with our huge lists of do’s and don’ts in an effort to keep favor, and when we feel that someone “jumps the line” by coming in and sitting at the feet of Jesus, we get bent out of shape. See Matthew 20:1-16.

“I’ve sat in this pew for 20 years, made every Wednesday night service, served on 2 committees, even made visitation most of the time. I’ve paid my dues. You just can’t wonder off the street and receive the same portion of Grace I’m entitled to…”

How many people have heard, or even felt that. I know I have. That’s why so many Christians have a problem with the thief on the cross. And here’s that phrase that comes screaming out of our childhood…

It’s not fair!

Wow, if we all got what’s fair…heaven would be a very lonely place. Thanks be to God that, through His son, He paid a price we would never be able to pay, in order to redeem us and re-establish the relationship we were ultimately created for.

So read the book and enjoy it for what it is; A picture of forgiveness, redemption, and relationship. And the next time you find yourself too busy, take a moment to sit at the feet of Jesus and breathe Him deep. It’s a reminder we all can take to heart.

A Moment in Time

One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is John 9.

It contains great Theology themes (suitable for discussion) such as :

suffering = punishment,

ceremony > results,

and one of the best 1 sentence summations of the Gospel to be found, but more on this later…

It documents one of Jesus’ miracles; restoring sight to one who was born blind. While this is an amazing picture of God’s grace, it’s also slightly disturbing for me. I really struggle with the concept of predestination, and find it difficult to assemble the words that express my personal interpretations. It’s one of those God concepts that’s almost impossible to wrap the human mind around. Visualize reading Shakespeare to a dog.

The implication is that this man was born blind, for this exact moment in time. I’ve always thought, “what a drag it was to be this guy”; For 30 something years, existing in complete darkness, never seeing his mother’s smile, the beauty of a sunset, or the splendor of God’s creation…all for this moment in time. And he’s not alone. The text reveals others, seemingly with their own singular tick on time’s eternal graph. For the woman with the blood disease, it was the touching of Jesus’ garment. For Zacchaeus, it was in the climbing of the tree, and for the Samaritan woman, it was her encounter with the Savior at the well…just to name a few.

It begs the question, “Was I created for a singular moment in time”? and if so, what if I missed it?! What if the blind man had chosen a different gate in which to sit by that day? The elderly woman decides she’s too frail to brave the crowds, the Samaritan woman chooses another time of day to fetch water, or Zacchaeus thinks that climbing the tree would just be an exercise in futility?

How many “would be” stories are absent from the Bible, victims of second guessed decisions such as these? And in my case, what if it was one of the days I skipped church, opted not to go to work, took a different route…the possibilities are seemingly endless. Did I miss something? I guess its human nature to pose this question.

There’s a story about a small group of guys sitting around one day, discussing how often they had sex with their wives. One guy exclaimed, “Twice a week”, and the others nodded, seeming to say, “not bad”. Another exclaimed, “once a week”, still another, “once a month”. One guy, remained silent, all the while grinning from ear to ear. They turned to him and quizzed, “So, what’s you story”? Still smiling, he replied, “Once a year”. “Once a year?” they shouted, “Why the smile”? In which he exclaimed, “Because tonight’s the night”!

That’s the shift in focus I think is required. A change from, “What if I missed it”, to “Today’s the day”!

And while these single events in time are all that’s captured of these people, the safe assumption could be made that their lives, and everything around them was altered for all of eternity. The Chaos Theory. You know, A butterfly flaps it’s wings… The little things I do today have the potential to alter eternity…exponentially… May I ever be mindful of that.

Oh, and that single sentence summation of the Gospel?

“...I do not know, but one thing I do know…I was blind, but now I see”!

Sums it all up, doesn’t it.

Serenity Now!

As the clock winds down on yet another year, we begin to reflect on those things yet accomplished, and what we will do differently in the upcoming year to see them through. Those New Year's resolutions. This year I'm going to...(insert dream here).

Plans we hang our hopes on, that begin to melt away long before the first flowers of Spring.

Recently, when I was in one of those reflective moments, I ran across something that I have seen a thousand times, yet in this instance began to resonate.

God grant me the serenity

To accept the things I cannot change;

Courage to change the things I can;

And wisdom to know the difference.

The Serenity Prayer. No doubt this simple phrase exists in thousands of variations and formats in Cracker Barrel motif homes all across the country.

It reminds me of those hymns that I grew up with in Church. The ones you can sing without missing a note, all the while your mind is busy thinking about that afternoon football game, or where you are going for lunch. In those rare times when you allow your mind to focus on the words, you realize why these old treasures have such staying power throughout the generations. The words may be simple, but they are truly powerful.

As I began to meditate on these words, I thought about all the situations that affect my mood, in which I had no control. Traffic. How many times have I allowed myself to get wrapped around the axle (no pun intended) over miniscule things...

"Seriously, three open lanes, and you pull out in front of me"!
"Your going to turn from THAT lane"!
"Hey, that light's not going to stay green forever"!

How often have a let the outcome of a sporting event, in which I didn't make one single play, dictate my mood for an entire weekend.

Let's not even talk about work...

Yet in those things in which I have some level of control, I often find myself greatly lacking in the effort department. Usually paralyzed by laziness, or that dreaded dream killer, procrastination. I usually attempt to make up for this by continuing to complain, or disproportionately dolling out excuses.

Maybe the wisdom portion of this comes in closing my mouth long enough to open my ears and listen with my heart. Much like those old hymns.

How different would the next year be for me, and those in my sphere of influence, if I made an honest effort to take this to heart. That's something to ponder on...

An additional note. In doing my research for this, I realized that there's an additional verse to the Serenity Prayer that seldom makes it's way to those needlepoint versions...

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world

As it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right

If I surrender to His Will;

So that I may be reasonably happy in this life

And supremely happy with Him

Forever and ever in the next.

Wow, that's powerful stuff.

I think I'll do my best to make that part of my prayer for the up coming year. So the next time I see a ceramic rooster, or a decoupage "Kiss the Cook", may a take a moment to disengage my mouth, engage my heart, and ask myself, "So, how's it going"?

A "tip of the hat" to Reinhold Niebuhr who is widely referenced as the author.

And so it begins...

So this year I hit a milestone in my life. No, not one of the “majors” that most people relate to…it’s 46. 46? Really? OK, I know this ones a little weird and has no apparent significance, but what I realized is that as I look at the period of time known as the 40’s, I’ve crossed that halfway point and am now closer to the end than the beginning.

Now I know that 46 is really no big deal at all. In fact, with the exception of my late teens and early twenties, in the military, I’m probably in the best shape of my life. I work out almost daily; have a beautiful wife, wonderful marriage, great relationships with my kids, a comfortable living and a wonderful collection of friends and family. Yet there are questions that seem to haunt me much too far down the path on life’s journey.

Questions like, “What do I want to be when I grow up”? “Where do I truly fit in”? “At what point do I begin to leave a legacy, or will I even leave one”?

It reminds me of the story of two babies that were born at the same time, in the same hospital. They both quickly went on their way and as fate would have it, many, many years later, they both wound up back at the same hospital on their death beds. One turned to the other and said, “So, what’d you think”? Will that be me? Will my life just seem to fly by, with no indelible mark left on the journal of life’s record? Will my complete existence on this earth just be to mark time, and then one day, it’s over? I believe I was created for a greater purpose, but what is it?

So often I feel the part of the outsider. Not the obvious stand out, just the guy that shows up in the credits, “second average guy in scene 4”. It seems frequently I’m like the last guy to enter the room and missed the main part of the conversation. It’s not the paranoid feeling that they’re all talking about me, just not quite on the same page as everyone else. I assume other people feel the same way at times, but I really don’t know. Probably because I never quite allow myself to fully open up to others.

With the exception of my wife, there’s not another single individual that completely and totally knows me. And even in our relationship, I’m terrible at fully baring my feelings and emotions. I know that it’s my own fault. I try to avoid getting too close, lest someone pull back the curtain and discover that it’s all show and in reality it’s just a small, lost man, pulling the strings and levers…

It’s like being in the sidecar of life’s motorcycle. Slightly off center, completely exposed to the elements, without the ability to control the direction you are traveling or the speed at which you are going.

And thus the reason for this blog. Maybe, somehow, by putting my thoughts and feelings out there, I’ll gain a little perspective. David unplugged if you will, without all the background noise of the band. Just the simple tune in my head that beckons me to dance life’s dance.

Who knows, maybe along the way I’ll meet up with other travelers, in there sidecars, along the journey of life. And together, we can formulate poignant, meaningful answers to that question, “So, what’d you think”?