‘The Shack’ is for believers
I remember looking into the vault of heaven one summer night in Seoul, South Korea, and seeing stars and planets plying their ancient courses.
I was rushing to a destination on foot, but stopped for a moment and looked toward the heavens for … what? Comfort? Confirmation?
I peered into the blackness and witnessed a cosmic dance that defied description. The universe seemed to pulsate — like Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” — yet was absolutely silent. The stars shined like diamonds strewn across black velvet.
Time, for the moment, stood still.
I was 20 years old and knew next to nothing … about anything.
During my reverie I realized that I was very, very small, and the universe, even the tiny portion that I could see, was vast beyond comprehension.
And, try as I might, I couldn’t convince myself that its creation was an accident. Too improbable! It seemed to me, at that moment, that the cosmos had been benevolently, meticulously and intentionally designed for me.
Why?
Musing took me no further, and I committed to nothing that night.
Sadly, I’ve never again had such an encounter. Perhaps that was my sole (no pun intended) chance to partake in a matchless event. I excused myself and forfeited, for the moment, any rendezvous with destiny.
I’ve since had many encounters with the Almighty, to be sure, but never one quite like Seoul.
What painful lessons might I have avoided had I lingered for a moment? Alas, fools routinely trade gold nuggets for scrap metal. That’s been my habit, I’m afraid.
“Someday I will make a decision about God,” I promised myself then. “But, tonight’s not the time.”
If not now, when?
That night never died, but it also never returned. That’s not to say I didn’t have other chances — different chances. More than a decade later, thankfully, I made my choice in the affirmative.
William P. Young is author of a celebrated and somewhat controversial book, “The Shack,” which I first read nearly 10 years ago. A massive hit, it sold 20 million copies. I re-read it last week.
It’s primary theme is that God loves us , really, really loves us. I, frankly, wrestle with that notion.
“The Shack” has been made into a motion picture starring Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, Tim McCraw and Graham Greene. Worthington starred in “Avatar,” Spencer in “The Help.”
The film, which opens March 3, promises to stir spirited debate. Some people, I’m certain, will love it. Others will disparage it. Where do I come down on the matter?
It’s metaphor, people; not literal theology. Ergo: Aslan the “Great Lion” wasn’t really Jesus Christ; he was a C.S. Lewis construct. Metaphor hints at a thing without being the thing itself. I think I’ll like it.
For those who hyperventilate every time God is mentioned publicly, well, you probably won’t care for the movie.
Just sayin’.
Spencer told USA Today that the movie doesn’t offer a literal interpretation of God. Of course it doesn’t! The human mind can’t fathom the mystery of a multidimensional creator. If I could explain him he wouldn’t be God, right?
“The Shack” concerns a man like myself who faces life’s ultimate questions and his own doubts.
Twenty-six publishers turned “The Shack” down. Young, along with several confederates, decided to self-publish. Young optimistically ordered 11,000 copies for a first run. It was sold online.
A novel that sells 7,500 copies is considered a bestseller. Young’s entire inventory of 11,000 books was gone in 31/2 months.
“The Shack” debuted at No. 1 in June of 2008 on the New York Times Bestseller List. It remained there 49 weeks.
Young labels that “a God thing.”
In the intervening years it has reached the 20-million-sales mark, and has been translated into 50 languages. Young says the book has unofficially been placed among the top 100 fiction bestsellers of all time.
I look forward to the film’s unveiling.
As a believer, my Christian sensibilities are as open to the movie as they were to the book.
JIM CARNETT, who lives in Costa Mesa, worked for Orange Coast College for 37 years.