As promised I will give my brief thoughts upon reading the Shack. My reluctance to read it was fueled by the overwhelming number of invitations to do so. There is a "curse driven part" of me, still under the redemption process, that resists rebels against anything that might be personally helpful to me that is recommended by too many people. "You've got to..." translates in my brain to "no thanks, not going to happen". That explains why I may be the last person in our church to read the hottest book of the year. (My personal thanks goes out to the gracious, persistent friends who persevered...continue to pray for your friend/pastor who is still in process).
The story begins for me where lots of good stories do...in an airplane, on my way to speak somewhere, not particularly interested in engaging in lengthy conversation with the person next to me. I finally loaded "The Shack" into my Kindle and settled in for a long flight to the West Coast. I grunted a "hi" to the girl next to me, flicked on the power, and began to read. Four hours later, just as the wheels touched down in Orange County, I finished the last chapter. As we were waiting for our turn to exit the plane, the girl I had so graciously ignored asked me about my electronic reading device. I enthusiastically explained what it was...the best thing since an iPod. She was an avid reader so she was quite interested.
Just before she pulled her carry-on from the overhead compartment, she said, "I hate to seem nosy, but I saw you were reading "The Shack". What did you think?"
Busted.
I thought the generic look of the plain white e-reader would shield my reading material from the general population...but obviously not.
"It was good", I answered, knowing that we didn't have time for much meaningful conversation, seeing that our turn to exit was just two rows away.
"Have you read it and did you like it?"
"I have", she replied. "I didn't want too, but several of my friends kept giving me copies."
Where have I heard that before...she sounds like me.
"What was the basis of your reluctance?", I asked.
"I'm not a religious person, so, after reading the back cover, I thought...this looks like one of those Jesus books...not interested...but I started to read it and couldn't put it down", she said as she turned to move toward the front of the plane. Several people walked past me as I struggled with an over-packed carry-on that was looking like it may become a permanent part of the overhead bin.
Uh-oh. This was beginning to look like one of those God moments that I had missed by not being sensitive to His leading and maybe opening up a conversation on the flight. Oh well...maybe next time.
But she waited for me in the terminal as I was looking for the baggage claim. She obviously wanted to talk more about it. I whispered a prayer and then asked her, "With you not being religious and all, how did reading this book impact you spiritually?"
"Good question" she said as she took a minute to think about that one.
She said that she hadn't really thought about it in that way and she needed to explain that while she wasn't really religious, she wasn't an agnostic either...she just had been turned off to Christianity and the church and such. She had visited a Buddhist temple a few times, but she would probably classify herself as an irreligious spiritual seeker.
After thinking about my question, she said, "I think the book has opened me up to Christianity again. I'd never really seen Jesus in that way. How has it impacted you?"
I said, "I think it made me feel closer to God in some ways".
"Me too", she said, as we approached the baggage carousel.
At that point I realized that this conversation had evidently distracted me from remembering that I had carried a camera onto the plane that was no longer with me. I quickly told her that I hoped she would find what she was seeking for, (and whispered a prayer that God would guide her in the process) and went on about my own journey in finding something that was lost. If you knew me like Debbie does, you would know that that is the story of my life...in a state of perpetual searching for things I've lost.
The point?
The book was good...it's fiction not fact...it's about God revealing himself (herself?) to someone in a stuck place...it's about how God might work...not definite, but possible. Theologically, I didn't see anything dramatically problematic...the author doesn't have a very high view of church...I think Jesus likes the church a little more than he would have you to believe.
I liked it...but who really cares? If the book began the process of opening up a spiritual seeker, who would probably never hear a sermon from that pastor that she unknowingly shared a plane ride with, to the idea that God loves her and wants to have a relationship with her forever, what difference does it make whether I liked it or not?
I'd tell you that you should read it...but you might be like me...and that would force you to put it off for another month or two.
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