The Shack
March 25, 2009
BOOK REVIEW & CONNEXIONS CLASS
Gordon MacDonald writes a thoughtful review of this astonishing book in Christianity Today. I enjoyed his take on the book immensely. It closely matches my own.
Personally, I liked the second half of the book as much as I disliked the first half–which is to say, a lot. I can’t really tell you why without giving away the plot. So I guess you’ll have to read it.
This book is not for the casual saint, but it is for anyone who has experienced love and loss, disenchantment, or great sadness–and who is wondering where God fits in.
It’s about becoming a little less comfortable with dogma and a little more comfortable with life’s Big Questions.
Read it. And see why this book has struck such a resounding chord with Christians and non-Christians alike. Why it has become a runaway best-seller. And a phenomenon.
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to read the rest from this author. Marc is a local writer, musician, and physician. He is a regular contributor to ConneXions and has written reviews for Spectrum: Adventist Forum. He loves words and music, windsurfing, and going on adventures with Janine and the kids.(Read more from this author) 
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The fact is, we suffer deeply. It’s almost queer how much we would rather sweep that beneath a theological carpet than wrestle with it.
THE SHACK says “No, no. Let’s wrestle.”
As a doctor, I have seen so many people perish before they perish. They harden their hearts because of their suffering. They implode. And sometimes that’s infectious. As an onlooker, I have found my own heart hardening. I have felt frustrated and enraged by my impotence as a healer. I have wanted answers, resolutions, something tangible to offer. And I have wanted it now, yesterday. In flailing acts of desperation, I have offered people platitudes instead of my own humanity.
Jesus offered no such platitudes. He offered his flesh. To give us a vivid picture of the bruised and bloodied God, who has been suffering with us from the foundation of the world–a world at war. A world in Enemy-occupied territory.
Life with Jesus is a journey, not an arrival. It’s about the slow and delicate chiseling of beauty out of pain. And there’s nothing quick or easy about that. We are, all of us, unfinished men and women.
And we may have less choice in the matter than we think. We can wrestle now. Or we can wrestle later. Because to be immune to suffering is to be immune to life.
Below are a few scriptures that came up in today’s ConneXions discussion on this topic. I do not pass them along as easy answers but as a place to start, as believers, in our contemplation of Pain and Suffering.
Romans 12:15
Is. 57:1-2
Psalm 126:5
Psalm 23
As I said in ConneXtions, the text that kept coming to my mind during our discussion was Ps. 126:5, which says that those who sow in tears will someday reap a harvest of joy.
Suffering is our human experience; it’s what best connects us to our brothers and sisters. I believe when Christians suffer, they have the opportunity to suffer well – to provide hope in Christ in the most hopeless of situations.
Jesus was a “man of sorrows.” He suffered, not just at Calvary, but all along his life’s journey to Calvary. He ministered while suffering. He sowed in tears. I believe this is our calling – this is the place we are the most honest, the most vulnerable – and ironically, the most able in our very weakness, to be used by God.
Sharing our hearts and our hurts with others allows a “harvest of joy” – or hope in Christ rather than bitterness of spirit or hopelessness.
We will suffer (as much as I’d prefer not to), but God promises that when we testify to his compassion, his faithfulness, and his great love for us that there will be joy!
I pray that the tears of the faithful will bring hope and healing to a world that is suffering.
Blessings, Shelly
Karla Toms shared an especially sweet story with us at Worship Leaders Meeting this last week. She and Andy have decided it is time for 10 month old Seven to sleep through the night. She shared with us that it really opened her eyes to God’s love for us when we’re hurting.
Little Seven may feel deserted & cry like his heart is going to break, but what he doesn’t realize is that on the other side of the baby monitor, there’s another heart breaking right along with his.
The pain of unexplained suffering is part of not being a baby anymore. And just like Karla doesn’t want her son to still be waking up in the middle of the night when he’s three, God doesn’t want to leave us as spiritual infants–and pain in this world is just part of growing up.
Not that it makes it feel any better, but at least we can know that on the other side of the “baby monitor”, someone is listening, and His heart is breaking with ours.
Great illustration Becky. Thanks for bringing that back to our minds. There were so many great comments at this class on Sabbath. I’m already forgetting most of them. I hope people will continue to post like you and Shelly have. It helps us become a community of memory. Among other things.
“As a child I chose safety. As a man I chose suffering. The pain now is part of the happiness then. That’s the deal.” CS Lewis – Shadowlands. Enjoying the discussion.
I just read something that sounded like it went right along with the discussion from last Sabbath.
“People can use their suffering either to gain character or become bitter. The ones who choose bitterness live a long, slow death. The ones who choose character truly live. Suffering is the tuition one pays for a character degree.”
- Richard M. Rayner, M.D.,