Rich on the Road

We've all grown up with books and the written word.  And, because of that, we take for granted what a wonderous gift they are.  Primitive peoples, when first swamped by civilization, can more fully appreciate the miracle that allows an inanimate object to, literally, speak to us. 

Of course, the most wondrous Book of all is the Bible.  God's way of speaking to us.  His words.  A gift to us.  And, I spend time daily, listening to God, through the Book He has blessed us with.

I also believe that God speaks to us through other books.  I'm no theologian.  Not really qualified to make that assessment, you might argue.  But, I do.  God, I firmly believe, has inspired other mortals to write other books that come to us in the right season and help us to grow in our relationship with Him and with His only son, Jesus Christ.

I've written in this space several times about what a life-changing event Pastor Rick Warren's "A Purpose Driven Life" was for Catherine and I about four or five years ago when we did "40 Days of Purpose."  I have another book to share now -- a novel this time by William Paul Young  -- that has had a great impact on both of us.  It is called "The Shack." 

I'm not sure my feeble attempts at critiquing it will suffice so let me fall back on the words of others who seem to have come away with much the same emotions that I did:

"Through my tears and cheers, I have been indeed transformed by the tender mercy with which William Paul Young opened the veil that too often separated me from God and from myself,"  writes Patrick M. Roddy.

"'The Shack' cuts through the cliches of both religion and bad writing to reveal something compelling and beautiful about life's integral dance with the Divine,"  says Mike Morrell.

The story will make you cry.  It's a hard story about a very broken world.  It will force you to think about your own relationship with Father, Son and Holy Ghost.  It may help you answer serious questions about why bad things happen to good people.  Why God allows evil to permeate this place.

The Shack has moved me to a different and better place in my walk, with a renewed determination to put God at the center of everything I do.

"The Shack."  Willam Paul Young.   Buy it.  If you can't afford it, email me and I will get you a copy.

Rich