Memorable Quotes from The Shack - Part I

When my hubby and I went to the bookstore the other night, we agreed to pick out one book each. I chose The Shack by Wm. Paul Young, a book that has received plenty of positive and negative press. Not being one to turn away from controversy, I decided to give it a try. Just two days after I brought it home, I had read the whole thing. I couldn't put it down. It has given me a new perspective on how God relates to me.

Over the course of several blog posts, I would like to share some especially meaningful quotes from the book.

ON THE NATURE OF GOD

"The problem is that many folks try to grasp some sense of who I am by taking the best version of themselves, projecting that to the nth degree, factoring in all the goodness they can perceive, which often isn't much, and then calling that God. And while it may seem like a noble effort, the truth is that it falls pitifully short of who I really am. I'm not merely the best version of you that you can think of. I am far more than that, above and beyond all that you can ask or think." (p. 100)

ON THE NATURE OF THE TRINITY

"'But what difference does it make that there are three of you, and you are all one God?...'

...'it makes all the difference in the world...We are not three gods, and we are not talking about one god with three attitudes, like a man who is a husband, father, and worker. I am one God and I am three persons, and each of the three is fully and entirely the one...All love and relationship is possible for you only because it already exists within me, within God myself.'" (p. 103)

ON HOW GOD RELATES TO MAN

"'Now here I am telling you about my kids and my friends and about Nan, but you already know everything I am telling you, don't you? You're acting like it's the first time you've heard it.'

'Remember that choosing to stay on the ground is a choice to facilitate a relationship, to honor it. Mackenzie, you do this yourself. You don't play a game or color a picture with a child to show your superiority. Rather, you choose to limit yourself so as to facilitate and honor that relationship...We have limited ourselves out of respect for you. We are not bringing to mind, as it were, our knowledge of your children. As we are listening to you, it is as if this is the first time we have known about them, and we take great delight in seeing them through your eyes...Relationships are never about power, and one way to avoid the will to hold power over another is to choose to limit oneself--to serve.'" (p. 109)

IMPLICATIONS FOR RELATING TO UNSAVED PERSONS

"'Mackenzie, you cannot produce trust, just as 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.'" (p. 132)

*I am not a book reviewer or advertiser. I am writing about this book simply because I want to share what God is teaching me through it.