Finally Finished Friday

TGIF. Not sure why~my weekends are usually at least as nutty as the rest of the week...but, it's a change of routine, especially when I do not have to work on Saturday. Such is the case this weekend. The finally finished doesn't just apply to my work week. I have also finally finished The Shack. My theory about why it has taken me so long to finish this book is because it really shook me down to my foundations. There have been two books this year that have had monumental impact: The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning and The Shack by Wm. Paul Young. The Ragamuffin Gospel helped me to get it after all these years that God loves all of us unconditionally and loves me in particular~in spite of or because of my flaws and faults, failings, frailties, and the strengths and noble strivings of a human being. The Shack was disturbing and unsettling. I was only able to read portions of it at a time and then just be with it. I had to take time to process the messages and to digest it all on a deeper level. There were so many truths that came forth out of this book that it is difficult to even know where to begin. The overall message I got out of reading this book was how finite our human minds and human understanding really is. The scriptures tell us that our ways are not God's ways and God's ways are not our ways. His thoughts are so far above ours that we cannot even begin to comprehend. This is one reason that things beyond our scope of understanding happen throughout the world on a moment by moment basis and we cannot fathom the why and wherefore that is part of the bigger picture seen only by the Eternal Father. So many things  have entered into the world and our sphere through the doorway of our own individual desire to have our own way~our freedom of choice. God gives us this because there can be no true relationship without the freedom to choose. This is a two-edged sword. Through freedom of choice, the free will, the human bent to have independence, Adam and Eve chose to have their own way. Even in an ideal setting, such as the Garden of Eden, where living conditions were ideal, Adam and Eve chose to eat of the forbidden tree, and they lost paradise and the untainted relationship they had with God. Even in a perfect world, we could not, as humans, avoid disobeying the rules. Disobedience in this case equals sin and through that doorway evil of all types was allowed to enter the world and into the human experience. Mankind invited it. God had it set up that man could be protected and provided for and have life pretty easy and serene. Adam and Eve could have had everything including perfect fellowship with the Creator.  I think most of us have learned the bitter truth, chosing our own way, only to find out that the cost far outweighed the momentary benefit. Especially since we compromise our closeness to God. This story was also a graphic illustration of how actions impact others both positively and negatively. What we do matters. Even if we think we've gotten away with something, God is not mocked. He sees. We do reap what we sow, good or bad. It comes back to us in a much larger dose than whatever we put out there. Sometimes our reaping takes the same form as what we sowed and sometimes God chooses another avenue~the one that gets our attention most deeply. Sometimes it is years before our reckoning comes to us and sometimes it is swift and immediate. Forgiveness is a powerful medicine. Judgement is a powerful poison. God is always with us. ALWAYS. Whether we are aware and connected in relationship with Him or not. The Holy Spirit is always at work. Jesus is interceeding for us and serving as the lens that God sees us through. He sees us as perfect because of Jesus. This book left me realizing how much God is always conspiring in our favor. No matter what things look like on the surface, there are powerful unseen forces constantly at work in our world and in our lives. God comes to us in whatever form He needs to in order to reach us. It's pretty amazing to think of this complex orchestration God has come up with for our benefit. God is very, very patient with His creation. All of that in order to have fellowship with all of us. Pretty amazing. My mind is still swimming from the height, bredth, and depth of it all! If you haven't read The Shack, you are missing an incredible experience!