Yes, I Read the Shack
The release of the film adaptation of William Paul Young’s novel, The Shack has become a trending topic over the past week – sparking a lot of talk and debate about both the film and novel and the themes they address. I read The Shack back in 2009, a couple years after it blew up in popularity and with its film counterpart coming out, I decided to pick it up again.
So, yes, I have read The Shack. Twice. I also went and saw the film this past weekend with a couple of friends.
If you’re reading on now, intrigued, ready to either shake your head at me in judgment for reading such a thing or to nod your head in enthused excitement about the novel, please know one thing:
I am writing this with no intention to condemn or recommend.
So, if that’s why you clicked on this link, looking for me to give my yay or nay on The Shack, you’re not going to find it here. What you will find is something the Lord spoke to my own heart while reading a story that has become so widespread in our culture, back when it was released in 2007 and now, 10 years later, as the film plays in theaters across the country.
Why is it that we as humans love story? What it is about a film, novel, or play that makes us ache and hope for the parents to reunite with their son, for the two people to make it through all the trials and end up together, for the criminal to be tracked down and brought to justice, for the child to forgive her parents for giving her up? Why do we yearn for that redemptive piece or resolution at the end of a story – and why do we feel cheated or upset when it doesn’t happen?
I would say it is because God has set eternity in the hearts of mankind (Ecclesiastes 3). I would say these stories we create (without realizing it a lot of the time) reflect a shadow of the bigger, original redemption story God is writing for this earth and the people in it.
So, it should come as no surprise when pieces of art in our culture draw us in deeper, make us think a little bit more about eternity, or ask questions about God and His relationship with the world. Whether it’s The Shack, The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, or Les Miserables you’re reading/watching and it causes you to doubt, to ask, to wonder – I think that’s good! It leaves you wondering and wanting more. Any novel or movie created by humans will always fall short and incomplete in trying to represent God and His character because His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9) He cannot be reduced to a simple character analysis – you cannot entirely capture the God of the universe within the pages of any novel. That being said, I do believe stories can convey hints and glimpses of Him that leave us wanting more.
God speaks in many ways and differently to different people. I believe one of those ways is art and story! If a piece of art sparks a curiosity or hunger for God, then I would urge individuals to find those answers, not in a story written by man, but in the words breathed by God Himself.
Scripture provides the truest representation of God, the Holy Trinity, and His heart and character. Explore, dive in, and see what the Bible has to say on the matter.
Over the years in my own life, God has used many books, movies, and relationships to speak to me. This past week He used a particular scene in The Shack to speak to something He has been teaching me over the past couple of years – to remind my head and heart of truth He has spoken. It is a truth I want to share with you in the hopes it encourages you as it did me.
This excerpt is from chapter nine and follows right after the main character Mack and Sarayu (Holy Spirit character) have just finished working in a huge, lush garden – digging up roots, clearing brush, sweating, and working hard (page 138):
She (Sarayu) turned to him. “Mackenzie, you are such a delight! Thank you for all your hard work!”
“I didn’t do that much, really,” he apologized. “I mean, look at this mess.” His gaze moved over the garden that surrounded them. “But it really is beautiful, and full of you, Sarayu. Even though it seems like lots of work still needs to be done, I feel strangely at home and comfortable here.”
Sarayu stepped toward him until she had invaded his personal space. “And well you should, Mackenzie, because this garden is your soul. This mess is you!” Together, you and I, we have been working with a purpose in your heart. And it is wild and beautiful and perfectly in process. To you it seems like a mess, but to me, I see a perfect pattern emerging and growing and alive – a living fractal.”
Earlier on in the chapter, upon walking through the garden and seeing it for the first time, Mack comments on what a hot mess it is (my paraphrase) – how it didn’t look like it had any rhyme or reason to it. Sarayu assures him that from a higher perspective, from above, it is a fractal – repeated patterns going on and on, infinitely complex.
When I read that passage, it was as if the Holy Spirit was showing me the garden of my own heart. The past couple of years, coming off of the World Race and CGA discipleship school, and jumping into what the Father has for me here in Minnesota has been both exciting and really hard. I have seen glimpses of how Papa is at work, seen celebrations AND frustrations in community, have felt alone, questioned my worth and abilities, doubted what good Papa could have for me here, failed in work, writing, relationships (and have wrestled with that failure), but have also been blessed with moments where I never felt more alive and in the center of Papa’s purpose for me – doing what He created me to do and being who He created me to be.
It has been, well, a hot mess from my perspective.
But, as the Lord reminded me, it’s a hot mess that is marked by His purpose and beauty. You see, the mystery of God’s sovereignty is not something I am about to even attempt to flesh out – that’s part of what makes it a mystery – we’re not meant to fully understand or comprehend His purposes. This is where faith comes in. I trust and know my God is good. I trust He has begun a work in me and He is going to see it through to completion – it’s what He promises in His word!
I don’t have it all figured out. (Clearly.) And my guess is you don’t either. I am in the struggle, in the learning, asking:
How do you live in the world but not of it?
How do you engage in culture without being consumed by it?
How do you live in the tension between grace and truth?
How do you battle the sinful nature in yourself with the new creation you now are?
How do you be humble and honest in your job without being walked all over at the same time?
How do you lead a full, but not busy life?
How do you put others first and love well while still making time for rest?
How do you forgive?
The majority of the questions come down to something I have written about before – balance. Tension. How do we do it? This scene in The Shack helped remind me of truth the Lord has shown me time and time again:
“But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:10-12
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:16-18
So, how do we do this – this process, this life? We don’t have the shadow of a hope to do it on our own. If we choose independence, we will fail. We need to choose dependence – relying on the Holy Spirit’s guidance and gentle whispers. After Jesus won the victory through His death and resurrection, He did not leave us on our own – He left us an Advocate, a Helper, a Comforter, a voice of Truth!
As followers of Christ, each day is an opportunity for us to work in the garden of our souls – side by side with the Holy Spirit. It’s not an easy work, and it is not something done in a one stop shop so to speak. It is a process, a life-long one. We will get dirt under our nails. Our backs and muscles will ache from working the roots stuck deep down and clearing away excess brush.
We will experience pain and mess from relationships. We will struggle to die to ourselves daily, slay the sin in our lives, and uproot old patterns of thinking. Choosing to follow Christ, to be in relationship with Him opens the door to true freedom, to be fully known and loved – to know yourself because of His love and how He sees you. It opens the door to growth – to reflect more of Christ every day! And with that comes mess, process, and hard work.
But it is all creating the most beautiful, intricate, purposeful masterpiece. One we can’t even begin to see from our perspective.
We trust Him – we walk with Him daily. We work together – embracing the process – not struggling against it.
So there you have it. Papa using a scene from a simple novel to remind me of truth. To draw me deeper to His heart. A scene that made me stop and talk to Him, pour into Scripture, and look at old journals to be reminded of where we’ve been and how far He has brought me. To remind me of how faithful and good He is – to remind me how precious and loved I am.
I hope and pray brother or sister, that by reading this, you are encouraged. I pray you are reminded of how deeply loved you are and that whatever you are going through – good, bad, ugly – it is not wasted. God is at work with you in the garden of your soul.
It is part of the process.
And it is beautiful.
