I recently saw the movie ‘ The Shack’. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and was looking forward to seeing how this story translated to the screen. Often, Christian movies are low budget films, and the message is lost due to the low quality of the movie. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the movie version of this book.
A few years ago, I led a small group Bible study for women in my home. I selected the book ‘The Shack’, for our group to study. When I told a church ministry leader about my selection, he was leery. He felt that the themes in the book were questionable and could mislead or confuse people in their spiritual walk. I took his advice under consideration, but ultimately stuck with my book choice.
This book was written as an allegory by a man who was trying to explain the love of God and God’s relationship with man to his children. It’s a story about a tragedy, and God’s presence throughout the tragedy and the pain that follows. It challenges our thoughts about God and His relationship with us. Most importantly, it challenges our thoughts of preconceived ideas about the nature of God, that we’ve learned through religious practices and teachings. You must move outside of traditional thinking to truly appreciate the book’s message.
For weeks, my group studied this story. One of the ladies was a little uncomfortable with it, but over time, through our discussions, she became more accepting of it. For me, I found it was life changing. The other ladies in the group enjoyed it equally as much. In fact, because of the enthusiasm our husbands witnessed from our book discussion, they too decided to read the book and enjoyed it as well! I’ve shared this book with many others, who’ve also found it enlightening.
To my delight, the movie was very well made with A-list actors. I wouldn’t label it a Christian movie, nor was it billed as one. No one claimed to be God, or Jesus and the spiritual message was very subtle. It was light-hearted yet thought provoking. I strongly encourage everyone to see this movie or read the book. It is great entertainment with a message about God’s loving nature.
“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” I John 4:16
If you’ve read the book or seen the movie, The Shack, please join us for Thursday’s live blog chat at 8:00 p.m. EST. Please call 1-712-770-8009; Code: 335261. Let us know how the movie or book impacted you.
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