Goodness and Trust

During the 8 days that we were gone on our beach adventure, I read 3 books. While I love to read, I don't have much opportunity to do it at home as other things pull at my time. The first two books I read were Mary Higgins Clark books - my all time favorite suspense author. The last book was one I read purely by coincidence, or so I thought.

Emily had given me The Shack and everyone that I talked to about it gave it average ratings at best. The impression I got was that it was just a little different. Kind of hard to wrap your brain around.

After I read my first two books, I decided to give it a try and see if it grabbed me. And grab me, it did!!

(If you're planning on reading this book, you should probably stop reading here as I'm going to explain the basic plot.)

The story is written from a father's point of view (Mack) about a tragedy that he and his family had experienced. While on a camping trip with 3 of his children, his youngest daughter was abducted and there was evidence that she was brutally murdered in a shack in a remote part of Oregon. About 3 or 4 years into the grieving process, Mack is still buried in what he calls "The Great Sadness" and cannot seem to move on. He receives a letter in his mailbox from "Papa" that asks him to meet him at the shack that weekend. Against his better judgement, he goes and, strangely enough, meets with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, all in human form. You can imagine his surprise and unbelief at how the weekend unfolds as he, with their help, comes to terms with his daughter's death and his own faith. The different part of the book that I think gives some people pause is that 2 of the 3 are represented by women and various races/cultures are presented. It took me a bit to get used to that concept, but I just kept thinking - can you imagine what it would be like for God to cook your dinner?? Or to work out in the shop with Jesus?? Or to tend the garden with the Holy Spirit?? How completely incredible and unbelievable!! Mack makes a lot of progress in his weekend with the Trinity and it is interesting how he is able to make the transition back into the real world.

The point of the post --

I have been struggling for a while with some trust issues and a conversation that occurred in this book pretty much hit me right between the eyes.

Mack was asking God (Papa) why He wouldn't just intervene when He knew that someone was in pain or that someone was being wronged. And this was His answer -

"Mackenzie. You really don't understand yet. You try to make sense of the world in which you live based on a very small and incomplete picture of reality. It is like looking at a parade through the tiny knothole of hurt, pain, self-centeredness, and power, and believing you are on your own and insignificant....

The real underlying flaw in your life, Mackenzie, is that you don't think that I am good. If you knew I was good and that everything - the means, the ends, and all the processes of individual lives - is all covered by my goodness, then while you might not always understand what I am doing, you would trust me. But you don't."

"I don't?" asked Mack, but it was not really a question. It was a statement of fact and he knew it.

"Mackenzie, you cannot produce trust just like you cannot 'do' humility. It either is or is not. Trust is the fruit of a relationship in which you know you are loved. Because you do not know that I love you, you cannot trust me."

"...For now I just want you to be with me and discover that our relationship is not about performance or you having to please me. I'm not a bully, not some self-centered demanding little deity insisting on my own way. I am good, and I desire only what is best for you. You cannot find that through guilt or condemnation or coercion, only through a relationship of love. And I do love you."

I think sometimes it is a crazy thought to think that the God of the universe truly LOVES me and wants to have a relationship with me. And it's even crazier to think that a lot of the time, I'm dumb enough NOT to trust that He loves me and has my best interest in mind. My trusting in Him is not going to just happen. I pray that He will constantly remind me of His love for me and my need of Him!