By Eli Dillard
A weekend getaway with God...
"The Shack" has been compared to the seventeenth century Christian novel "The Pilgrim’s Progress" in its influence and ability to make a believer out of anyone. While "The Pilgrim’s Progress" is more of a fictional analogy of the Christian journey, "The Shack" is a true journey (the main character’s claim to truth) about a man struggling with trust, pain and love in his relationship with Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit. And in a way that would attract the non-church goer or even the non religious type.
Mackenzie Allen Philips, the main character also known as Mack, has always had a rough past haunting him. His tumultuous relationship with his father made him strive to be an even better one, yet he has always struggled with living up to perfection. His wife, Nan, and five kids are his foundation. And while Nan’s relationship with God is solid (she calls him Papa), Mack believes but does not interact. It is only through pain and suffering that Mack makes sense out of it “all.”
In the midst of an Oregon summer, Mack and three of his kids decide to go on a camping trip Wallowa Lake State Park for a weekend. This is where his journey into revelation begins. While rafting, his son Josh starts drowning. Out of parental instinct, Mack swims out to save him. In the process and chaos, Missy, Mack’s youngest daughter, goes missing. Every parent’s biggest fear has come true for Mack. Not knowing who to blame or what action to take, surrounding campers contact authorities and the search begins.
After a brutally long month, Missy’s red dress is found torn and blood stained in an abandoned shack a couple of miles from the camp site. During the next four years, Mack struggles with what he calls "The Great Sadness." It haunts him and physically limits him at times with its capturing power that cripples Mack, his heart and his relationships.
Four years since Missy’s death, Mack receives a note that tells him to come to the shack and is signed from Papa. Curious, angry, saddened, and intrigued, Mack decides to go without telling his wife. At this point in the book, the author, Young, manages to make three chapters of internal thought and debate interesting. Once Mack arrives at the shack, he is met by Jesus, God ("Papa"), and the Holy Spirit named Sarayu. Over the course of what seems like days, Mack engages in life-changing experiences and conversations with each of the three “spirits.”
The shack, once old and rugged, transformed into a beautiful creation: flowers abound, front porch swings and home cooked meals. Mack goes trough several transformations while he is there. First, he must understand how God can exist and love with so much pain. Why would he take Missy and expect love in return, Mack thinks. He then must forgive his daughter’s murderer. As Mack internally grows and changes, the characters of God, Jesus and Sarayu come to life. Young is able to personify these characters and keep them grounded in spirituality.
Upon returning home from his weekend spiritual journey, Mack gets into a car crash. In the afterward, Young questions the validity of Mack’s story due to this wreck and pain pills. However, Mack stands by his story to this day. When he returns, he can finally let "The Great Sadness" go, make his family whole again and trust "Papa" with all his heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment