The following is a brief 'article' from my brother Matt which he posted on facebook a while back. Yesterday someone asked for my input regarding the book and instead of rewriting something entirely new, I thought I'd just share Matt's piece because it 100% articulates my thoughts. Check it and I'll pass any comments along to Matt:
I'll be the first to admit that I am not a bandwagon reader. To be honest, I'm not that much of a fiction reader to begin with, but at the behest of a few friends I decided to give William P. Young's "The Shack" a read.
I was curious as to what made this book so appealing to such a great audience. It was only a few pages into the forward that I discovered the connection to every reader in the form of The Great Sadness.
That phrase struck a chord in me. I'm sure it probably struck a chord with most people because I would be willing to bet that most of us are dealing with our own Great Sadness is some way or another. Whether it be a death of a parent or close family member, abuse as a child, or any other circumstance that we deem "unfair" or wronged by (regardless of our contribution to it), The Great Sadness is unrelenting in weaving a common thread in most people's lives.
The beautiful part to me about The Shack is how it deals with The Great Sadness that Mack had been shouldering for some time. It is a stunning depiction of redemption and grace. It paints a vivid picture of how our lives can be healed from it's brokenness when we allow ourselves to adopt the paradigm of Providence.
This paradigm is best illustrated when Sarayu takes Mack to the garden. It is described as "chaos in color." Mack thinks it looks like a mess, but when he discovers that it's actually a visual of his soul, he begins to see how God sees him, full of beautiful color or a "living fractal". Although the fractal is infinitely complex, there is order and purpose in how He sees us and because of the redemptive work done through Christ, it is always beautiful.
I think that most of us don't realize how distorted our paradigm can be because of The Great Sadness in our lives. It robs us of any opportunity to see ourselves completely whole when held against the light of restoration.
For me the guilt became comfortable and the pain was familiar. It was something that became a part of me. Only recently have I decided to take measured steps to deal with it once and for all so that I won't see myself as "a mess," but rather a "living fractal." I can't wait to live in that garden.
Something else that I take away from the book is that God is not unmindful of our Great Sadness. For a preacher's kid that seems to be a pretty basic theological principle. But sometimes we need to be reminded of the simplicity of his nature.
In fact, this story illustrates that not only is he aware of our pain, but sometimes God will invite us to meet him at our most painful place. God didn't invite Mack to the church, a prayer meeting, or a bible study to do his work. Instead he chose the place that would open his deepest wounds in order for God to do his greatest healing.
The greatest point I believe The Shack makes through it's story is the power of God's relational nature. Yes, he sometimes asks us to meet him at our darkest place. Yes, he will stretch us to our limits, but it all begins with his willingness to meet us where we are. For Mack God-in-three was in the form of an African American woman named Elousia, an Asian woman named Sarayu, and a Hebrew man Jesse.
Now before any of my traditional church-going friends get their feathers ruffled and think this book is saying that God is a woman, rest assured it is not. So, put your quilted bible covers and lacy bookmarks away and relax. If the scriptures can use a donkey or a bush to speak to us or meet with us, I think it's safe to say he would personify himself as a woman if he needed to. Remember, it's just a story.
Anyway, I would venture to guess that Mack is not alone in his distant and unapproachable view of God. If I had a father like he did, I would probably be share a similar view. Fortunately I have a great dad and cannot not relate to Mack.
My favorite line in the book is when Papa tells Mack, "Life needs a bit of time and a lot of relationship." How great is it that our Creator seeks us out so that we may know him and in that relationship with him be completely whole.
I realize my soul at times is "chaos in color," but with the right paradigm I will focus on the "living fractal" within.
