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Monday, June 29, 2009

The Shack

I want to talk about The Shack by Wm. Paul Young. Personally, I rank it up there with my absolute favorite book,Edge of Eternity by Randy Alcorn. But now, The Shack takes its place. It is an amazing book.
There is so much controversy over this 252 page paperback (or however long the hardcover is ;]). This book helped me to understand the Trinity without making my brain want to explode and it also tackled the institutionalized church, the man made system. I can see very well where people would get upset. In the book, Jesus addresses insitutions and says that’s not what he came to build. “What I see are people and their lives, a living breathing community of all those who love me, not buildings and programs (pg 180).” Ut oh. What does that mean? Could it mean that God doesn’t care what church we belong to as long as we fellowship with other believers and love Him with all our heart, mind and spirit? Could it also mean that He doesn’t care how many programs someone belongs to especially if that’s how that person thinks that is the way to please God?
Guys, God just wants a relationship with us. I swear, it is that simple.
And Young wasn’t saying that in the end everyone will be saved. In the book, God said that he has forgiven everyone.This is true, however, it is still our choice whether or not to accept that forgiveness. If you don’t accept a gift that someone gives you, you can’t get any use out of it, can you?

Just felt the need to write this...

God created us. But He didn’t want just robots, so He gave us free will. He then made rules, which we all broke. But without the Holy Spirit in us we could never abideby those rules on our own. This meant we were banished from entering heaven. This made God very sad; He didnt create us just to send us to hell. That place was originally meant for Satan and his demons. God wants us to be with Him. When God made the rules He basically said “follow these and you can be with me. If you don’t then you won’t be able to be with me.” Sin CANNOT enter heaven. So the only other option, rather than changing the rules, is for someone to pay the price. This is where Jesus comes in. Jesus took upon Himself the sins of the entire world. That is, everyone who has been and everyone who will be. The only thing we have to do is accept this gift. By doing that we can enter into heaven with God the way we were meant to.