A journey with a man inside a book

It is funny and enlightening when you come upon something in your day to day life that makes you change your mind completely. I have just recently read a book that changed my perspective on my faith significantly.
The Shack by Wm. Paul Young was an beautifully written book about a man whose daughter is abducted on a family vacation. It follows him through a trip back to the shack where investigators found her bloodied dress. In this book, he spends a weekend with God.

I have to admit that when the book was suggested to me the last thing I wanted to read about what a man who "spent a weekend with God" in a shack in the middle of nowhere. He is invited to this shack by God. As I began reading this beginning part of the book I became more and  more skeptical. I have not been having the best time with my faith. I have developed a lot of questions in my mind. I have become more and more confused about what I believe. I believed in a higher power, but I wasn't sure to what extent I believed in Him or it or whatever.  I have a lot of questions because of death, 'sins' dealing with homosexuality and the like, and to what extent our life is already decided for us. I thought a lot of things did not make sense.

For one thing I have from a very young age not know why people are taken from us. Why, if they are good people, would their lives end to early or be taken in a brutal force? It was all very confusing to me. After reading this book, however, it was explained in a way that I thought understandable. The writer explained it as God not trying to justify why the bad thing happens, but rather taking the thing that is bad (which is caused by evil stemming from free will God gives us) and redeeming it with something good in the end. It is so that basically God does not "let" this bad thing happen.

I also saw this quote in the book about our pain that come from such bad things: "Don't forget that in the midst of all your pain and heartache, you are surrounded by beauty, the wonder of creation, art your music and culture, the sounds of laughter and love, of whispered hopes and celebrations, of new life and transformation, of reconciliation and forgiveness. These also are the results of your choices, and every choice matters, even the hidden ones."

I have also never understood things about sinning. How can we possibly follow these ancient commandments in a world such as this, being human nonetheless? It is impossible.If you do these things, are you immediately sentenced to an eternity in hell if you don't change your ways (such as being homosexual-- my aunt and  uncle are both homosexual and this topic has always affected me)? There were several things said about Christians and the church and how they have clung to these rules and granted themselves the right to judge everyone else. I hate how me being Christian makes me assumed to be like this... or to be no fun... or weak because my belief in such a thing bring me great comfort and peace. I found this part in the book that explains in several places about what can be said about this subject: "Enforcing rules, especially in more subtle expressions like responsibility and expectation, is a vain attempt to create certainty out of uncertainty. And contrary to what you might think, I have a great fondness for uncertainty. Rules cannot bring freedom; they have only the power to accuse."

"Religion must use law to empower itself and control the people needed in order to survive. I give you an ability to respond and your response is to be free to love and serve in every situation, and therefore each moment is different and unique and wonderful. Because I am your ability to respond, I have to be present in you. If I simply gave you a responsibility, I would not have to be with you at all. It would now be a task to perform, an obligation to be met, something to fail."

"Let's use the example of friendship and how removing the element of life from a noun can drastically alter a relationship. Mack, if you and I are friends, there is an expectancy that exists within our relationship. When we see each other or are apart, there is an expectancy of being together, of laughing and talking. That expectancy has no concrete definition; it is alive and dynamic and everything that emerges from our being together is a unique gift shared by no one else. But what happens if I change that expectancy to and expectation -- spoken or unspoken? Suddenly, law has entered into our relationship. You are now expected to perform in a way that meets my expectations. Our living friendship rapidly deteriorates into a dead thing with rules and requirements. It is no longer about you and me, but about what friends are supposed to do, or the responsibilities of a good friend."

Overall, my thought on my faith have become a little less complicated after reading this book. I really enjoyed it. I felt as though I was going through the journey that this man was going through along with him. It was, in way, slightly emotional for me.

I highly recommend it for anyone that was in the position that I was while reading it.

Other quotes from the book that I found intriguing:

"Each relationship between two persons is absolutely unique. That is why you cannot love two people the same. It simply is not possible. You love each person differently because of who they are and the uniqueness that they draw out of you. And the more you know another, the richer the colors of that relationship."

"Don't ever discount the wonder of your tears. They can be healing waters and a stream of joy. Sometimes they are the best words the heart can speak."

"If anything matters then everything matters. Because you are important, everything you do is important. Every time you forgive, the universe changes; every time you reach out and touch a heart or a life the world changes; with every kindness and service, seen or unseen, my purposes are accomplished and nothing will ever be the same again."

"I am a verb. I am that I am. I will be who I will be. I am a verb. I am alive, dynamic, ever active, and moving. I am a being verb."

"Nouns exist because there is a created universe and physical reality, but if the universe is only a mass of nouns, it is dead. Unless 'I am,' there are no verbs, and verbs are what makes the universe alive."

"The Bible doesn't teach you to follow rules. It is a picture of Jesus. While words may tell you what God is like and even what he may want from you, you cannot do any of it on your own"

"It is not the nature of love to force a relationship, but it is the nature of love to open the way."

"You demand your independence but then complain that I actually love you enough to give it to you."

"If I take away the consequences of people's choices, I destroy the possibility of love. Love that is forced is not love at all."

"Just because you make horrendous and destructive choices does not mean you deserve less respect for what you inherently are-- the pinnacles of my creation and the center of my affection."

"The person who lives by his fears will not find freedom in my love."

"Grace doesn't depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colors."

"Emotions are the colors of the soul-- they are spectacular and incredible. When you don't feel, the world becomes dull and colorless."

Peace all!