The Shack is a bestseller written by William Paul Young, and is now a major motion picture. First of all, you really can't go wrong with Octavia Spencer as one of the main actresses − I mean, who doesn’t love her in The Help? The rest of the cast is amazing too, but the story line is what captured me most.
The story follows a man named Mack facing horrific trials which eventually lead him to God. Literally though − he meets God face-to-face. He encounters God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in a place once so hated and dark. God is no booming voice from heaven or shadowy, unknowable figure in this story. Instead, Mack enters the welcoming, comforting home of three incredibly down-to-earth, fun-loving, humble, loving and wise human-like figures. They each represent one person of the Trinity in a form that Mack can touch, relate to, and ask the deep questions harrowing his mind and heart.
What I love most about this movie comes down to two things: Mack's struggle and the captivating warmth of the Trinity. These characters of the Trinity defy expectations in appearance, personality, and even theology. But the message is clearly from Scripture, and here are some of the themes that come out in Mack's conversations with each member of the Trinity: God doesn't cause bad things to happen, but God does orchestrate those to work out for our growth and good and to bring glory to Him. When we suffer, God suffers alongside us; in fact, Jesus took on our pain and brokenness on the cross when He died for us. Although our lives may look like a mess now, He can work incredible good, just as He brought forgiveness, healing, and life out of His death on a cross. It is one thing to read these words, but quite another to see them spoken by God to a man in such a place of hurt and desperation − trust me.
This movie allows the viewer to enter in Mack's wrestling match with the question all of us have asked or will ask at some time or another: If God is loving and all-powerful, why do bad things happen to good people? Through a series of lessons and challenges, Mack realizes that he cannot be the judge of good and bad and that TRUST always has to be involved in his relationship with God. His process of healing is painful and messy, yet so relatable and powerful. And to see God interact in such a personal, comforting and challenging way gives me a beautiful glimpse of my own relationship with the Creator and Savior.
So be prepared, the beginning of the story is heart-wrenching and intensely emotional. But I wouldn’t let it stop you from entering in on Mack's journey, for he gets the privilege of asking God the questions we all − believers or not − long to ask. And the answers here are real, meaningful, and un-simplistic, thus inviting us to dig deeper into who God is. For if we don’t talk about the healing God can bring in the darkest places, who will?
