The Shack - Part 2

For those of you chosing to read "The Shack", let me please encourage you to READ THE FOREWARD! And maybe not even just once, but revisit it throghout the book. It may help you get through some of the parts that seem a little 'out there'.

The two portions of text that I have chosen to focus this post on involve a discussion about our limitations as humans, and how although our souls may be broken and messy, they are still seen as beautiful to God.

I have a lot of Christian friends, and have been fortuante enough to get a lot of wonderful advice from them throughout the years. My youth group in high school was such an amazing group of support, and helped to build the foundation of my faith. As I entered college, I seemed to lose that community of faith. Now, I am finally beginign to gain that again through attending the Crossing Church, and chosing to spend more time with my Christian friends.

One thing to note, though. Christian or not Christian -- we all fall. None of our lives are perfect, and we are all in a constant battle, fighting to keep our heads above water and turned towards heaven. Right now I'm making a concious effort -- through this blog, through reading Christian focused books, and talking about my faith daily with my family and friends -- to keep God on my mind EVERY SINGLE DAY. I pray that through this obediance I will be able to grow in my faith, and hopefully encourage those around me to do the same.

In this first quote, Papa (God) is talking to Mack (the main character) at the Shack. Papa says to Mack, "A bird’s not defined by being grounded but by his ability to fly. Remember this, humans are not defined by their limitations, but by the intentions that I have for them; not by what they seem to be, but by everything it means to be created in my image," (pg. 100). There are a few other quotes later on that discuss the nature of sin and how God may see sin through his eyes, but this one is so foundational. Think about it -- we are not defiend by our limitations (our sinful nature) but by what Gods intentions are for us (which are so much greater than we will ever know)!

The second quote comes from when Mack is talking with Sarayu (the Holy Spirit) in 'Sarayu's' garden. Young describes this portion of the book with immacualte detail - a beauitful garden with wonderful things in it, but everything seems to be unorderly and tangled in a mess.

Mack: “I mean, look at this mess. … 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: “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," (pg. 138).

The definition of fractal accoring to an online dictionary is "a complex geometric pattern exhibiting self-similarity in that small details of its structure viewed at any scale repeat elements of the overall pattern." Something a little hilarious and ironic...after this definition it says "see also...chaos". haha!

The mess that Mack is seeing in the garden is his own soul. But what I think creates wonderful imagrey is when Sarayu tells Mack that "together, you and I, we have been working on a purpose in your heart". We must remember that our journey through faith is not something we can do on our own. In fact, it is taking ourselves out of the equation and just giving everything up to God. Although our lives may seem like they are a mess, we must remember that God and the Holy Spirit are at work within us. Our souls may be messy, but they are a work in progress and it is our responsibility to continue opening ourselves up to Christ.