Forgiveness Is Important as It Is a Way of Getting Support From God - Paper Example

Introduction

"The Shack" is a form of a fictional story that is based on a man called Mack. The daughter of Mack was abducted at a time when he needed her most. The daughter was not only abducted, but she was also murdered. Mack was no not happy about the incident, and there is only a little information that is provided about the daughter as the event was taking place. After four years, there was a letter that came from Papa (this was the name that the wife used to call God). The letter was asking Mack to head to the shack where he would meet Papa. The evidence regarding his daughters' murder was in the shack, and it was that place that Mack ended up discussing with God (Colson, 2008). While he was in the shack, had started developing some peace of mind. He was not able to get an answer to all things that were troubling him including the death of Missy his daughter and also the kind of pains that he was experiencing as he was growing up. In that case, the story was revolving around the theme of forgiveness and getting to understand the kind of service that God was giving to the people who believed and trusted in him.

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Forgiveness is one of the themes that is imminent in the book and therefore all the issues that are taking place revolve around it. The people in the book are sure of the fact that there is God and he wants them to practice the art of forgiveness. Many people in the book have been depicted suffering from pains and troubles, but they do not seem to blame anyone because they believe that God is there and he wants them to be able to tolerate a number of the challenges that they face in life.

Mack is the main character in the book which can be used to understand whatever it means to practice the art of forgiveness. One of the challenges that Mack had to encounter in the book before getting out of the shack was to find a way in which he could forgive the people who took part in the killing of Missy (his daughter). Papa was able to take Mack through some teachings while focusing on the topic of "A Morning of Sorrows." Papa made Mack realise the fact that putting away the ideas of forgiveness was a better way of representing Missy on earth and that he was not supposed to judge anyone who killed her (Rich, 2008). Papa added that God is the only one who was supposed to judge people. Thus, Papa made Mack realise the fact that God is the only who can judge people and that his duty was just to find a place in his heart to forgive. He was therefore supposed to develop some form of love for the person who killed his daughter regardless of the pains that he was experiencing. Papa also makes it clear that Missy was able to forgive the person who killed her and that God was therefore inside her.

The other incidence of forgiveness can also be depicted in the part where Mack was supposed to forgive the Little Lady-killer loudly. He, therefore, vowed that he was going to keep forgiving so long as the repercussions were true and that they would help him in future. Consequently, Mack seems to be relieved of the burden that he had been bearing from the time when his daughter died. The author also states that Mack was even ready to get in touch (face to face) with the Little Lady-killer to be able to forgive him.

The other aspect of forgiveness can also depict in the place where the forgiveness that was attacked to Missy's killer was helping Mack to find a way of forgiving himself too and any other person who wronged him. After Mack was able to forgive Missy's killer, other people started coming up with confessions. Sarayu was one of the people who came to Mack and said that Kate kept on blaming herself for the incident that led to the killing of Missy. Mack came from the hospital and therefore decided to go ahead to meet Kate so that he could be able to advise her on how she forgave herself for the guilt that she had developed (Streib, 2009). All these incidences are a clear indication that "The Shack" was entirely based on the ideas of forgiveness having in mind that most of the characters were suffering from pains that could not be forgotten. Most of the characters accept to forgive each other and themselves, but they do not forget the incidences that they went through as they were trying to pursue different life issues.

The theme of God supporting people is also imminent in the poem, and it can be understood from the kind of interactions that the characters have with each other. This is also evident in the Christian faith that is exhibited by the characters in the entire story. William Paul Young who is the author of the book wanted to show the fact that he was a person who was attached to God because of the goodness that he reasoned. In that case, he wanted to show the fact that his family and friends were all religions and that was the reason why most of the practices are revolving around the Christians.

Some parts of the contemporary Christianity are not embraced well by Mack. He was not ready to believe the fact that he was conversing with God Jesus and Sarayu. Looking at the time when he lost his daughter, Mack was not ready to believe the fact there was God and that he was the one who was going to save him from all the troubles that he had (Tuttle, 2010). Towards the end of the event, the ended up accepting and following all the things that he had been told by God from the beginning to the end. He said that God had done a lot of things for him and he had to work hard and also follow all his commands. This was a depiction of the kind of things that God has done to the entire part of my life. God has been guiding me when it comes to the making of informed decisions about life and also handling all the difficult circumstances that come my way.

The book also shows that all the Christians who have little faith in God will end up taking little steps when it comes to being related to God. It also shows that people who do not believe in God will keep on judging others because they do not know that judgment is the work of God. Such Christians are also said to be ready to take all matters into their hands because they do not believe that God is in control and that he is going to protect them at all times. Most people rely on power and leadership, and this is something that is criticised in the book. In that case, the book needs one to be ready to accept God just like Mack did after he realized that he had lost a precious daughter in the hands of a murderer (Young, 2007). This was an indication that God was in control and that he had the intention of making Mack have a better life regardless of the problems that he had been facing.

While Mack was young, he was subjected to many cases of child abuse because and he not able to save himself from such difficulties. He did not give up but continued believing that one day he was going to get out of it all. This was a sign that God was in existence and he was monitoring all his moves. Despite the fact that he did not have complete faith in God, he still got his protection in all the things that he was doing. In this case, it is evident that God was always there and he was taking care of him from childhood to adulthood (Weinman, 2010). The only thing that he was supposed to do was to believe that God was alive and that he was going to supporting him in all his endeavors.

This related to the kind of events that I have been going through in life and most of them have been of too much failure and misunderstanding among the people that I meet. All in all, God has been able to guide me, and I have been able to succeed in other areas even though I was weak in some. People have been despising me at work claiming that I do not deliver the right services but God has been able to give me the power to deal with all those animosities in a way that is different from what the rest would expect. In that case, God helps people in all circumstances and but they have not been able to realize how he does it. It is only in a few cases that God will manifest himself and makes one change the kind of behavior or decision that are yet to be made. Mack was a bitter man when he is lost his daughter, and in that case, he wanted to revenge because he could not tolerate it. In that case, Papa called Mack in the shack and made to think of the all the things that he had done to other people and learn how to forgive and also trust in God.

Conclusion

In conclusion, forgiveness and the things that God does to people have been majored on in the book, and the author brought them out clearly. Forgiveness has been seen among some characters after they realized that they were not in line with the desires of Papa. In that case, they decided to follow all his rules and maintain all that he had stated in the commandments. God was in control of all the people in the book, but it was not clear because he only manifested himself to Mack who was in sorrow. In that case, forgiveness and the thing that God does to people who have faith in his have been well brought out in the book.

References

Colson, C. (2008). "Stay Out of The Shack." Religion.

Rich, M. (2008). "Christian Novel is Surprise Best Seller." The New York Times.

Streib, L. (2009). "Paul Young's publishing Miracle." Forbes

Tuttle, S. (2010). "The Shack- Book Summary." Shepherd Project.

Weinman, S. (2010). "The flack over The Shack." Los Angeles Times.

Young, W. P. (2007). "The Shack." Windblown Media.