A WEEKEND WITH JESUS

I was sitting on my bunk reading a book, about Pentecostal Oneness Theology, the other day when one of my new friends named "Ice" stopped in my cube to chat.  He had brought me a book that he had read.  I really wasn't interested because it is one of those fiction books that gets devoured by the other inmates just to pass the time.  I thanked him for the book anyway and put it on my pile of books stacked on my locker.  I had no intention of reading it, as I was deep into the book I had in my hands.  It wasn't long before we ran out of things to talk about - which is unusual for "Ice", so I went back to reading about theology.

Later on, I had another visit from my friend, Jack.  He is an interesting character who is never short on opinions, even though they are not often very popular opinions.  Jack is a 65 year old retired engineer from Kentucky.  He is short and skinny, but don't let his size fool you.  He is larger than life with his stories, depth of knowledge and heady opinions.  For our own entertainment, we will often bring up one of his favorite topics like:  The Bureau of Prisons (BOP), our President, Gun Control, God, homosexuals, or anything that can cross these lines of conversation.  We watch him as he starts with a sarcastic comment here and there until he turns it into a full-fledged rant with his unleashed passion.  His voice escalates and his face and neck begin to turn red.  Those of us around him smile as we take a step back and look around us in case his off-colored comments have reached the ears of anyone he may have offended.  In many ways he resembles a character in the animated television show, "King of the Hill".  Do you remember Hank Hill's father?  I forget his name, but I'm sure you remember him by his over-opinionated character.

With Jack's distinctive back-woods Kentucky accent and his red neck (literally),  we kindly call him a "redneck" (with his permission, of course).  As stereotypical as this may seem, it is an accurate picture of our friend and he pridefully accepts his nickname.

Jack is a kind man who lived a harsh life.  He is enjoyable to talk to, even if his opinions are strong.  We have earned each others' respect even though we disagree on many of his opinions.  He knows that I am a follower of Jesus Christ and he accepts me despite his disbelief.  He made sure I knew that he was raised Lutheran and he can still quote a Bible verse or two.

Jack spends his time here reading books.  He will make several trips to our mini-library and brings back an armload of books to read.  There is a countertop at our community computer station where people drop off books they have finished reading.  Every time Jack and the rest of our mealtime homies head out to dine together we pass by this counter.  We have to stop and wait for our Redneck Reader to peruse the selection for any titles he has not read yet.  He is one of those guys who devours books at a record-setting pace.

As Jack entered my cube, he handed me a book that he thought I might like.  I was not too excited about this as it was yet another recommendation to add to my already lengthy list of books to read.  My books were not mind-less fiction that these guys were pushing on me.  I am looking to fill my head with non-fiction books with weighty truth about our God.  I want to read about ancient world history and how Christianity made an impact in that history.  Certainly my reading agenda is more important with it's heady subject matter I thought to myself!!  I don't want to waste my time with time-killing fiction!  I might as well plant myself in front of the television screen for hours at a time.

I took the book from Jack, as he began to tell me why I might like it.  I listened to him as I looked over the cover, which had a picture of an old, run-down cabin in a snow storm.  He summed up the book by describing it to be about a man who spent 3 days in a shack talking to God.  Just as he said that, he rolled his eyes in his typical redneck tone of being annoyed by the idea that someone would write a book about that.  Despite his annoyance, he thought I might enjoy it.  (And I am thankful that he kept insisting on that)

I studied the cover and saw that it was endorsed by Eugene Peterson, who translated the Bible into a paraphrased version titled, "The Message".  Inside the cover, there were several pages of endorsements including several names I recognized, such as:  Michael W. Smith, Bear Grylls, Wynona Judd, and others.  My interest was suddenly peaked by the book, so I thanked Jack as I thumbed through the pages.  He headed back to his cube to find another book to read and I put down my Pentecostal theology book.  I started reading this new book titled, "The Shack" by William Paul Young.

I was amazed at how quickly I was pulled into the story.  I found a new friend in the main character, Mack.  The more I read this story, the more difficult it became to put it down.  It was that GOOD!  It is not my intent to write a book report, as I had enough of those when I was in high school.  I also don't want to spoil the plot of this book if you decide to read it for yourself.  What I will share with you here is a snapshot of the impact it had on me.

I was taught early in my life about God;  from my parents who love God from Sunday School teachers, from Pastors, from youth leaders and many others in my life.  I developed an understanding of who He is by the influences in my life, much like many of you have as well, I'm sure.  It is not uncommon for our understanding of who God is to become stagnant and routine.  Every now and then, we need to change our "perspective" so we can get a fresh look at God and see Him in a different light.  This may come from a trial in our life, fresh insight through a sermon, or, in this case that I'm am writing about, a book about another man's experience.

This story will take you on a fascinating journey.  I suppose some people would take away my "man-card" for admitting that this story made me laugh and cry.  But I don't care if they do, as it was that compelling.  The story gave me permission to look at God in a much more personal and intimate way.  What if you could sit at the kitchen table with God sitting across from you while you shared pancakes and coffee?  What if you could take a walk on the lake with Jesus as you talked about life?  What if you could hang out in the garden with the Holy Spirit  as He explained how He can help you with your life?  This story will take you on a journey that will allow you to understand our God with a new perspective.

To give you a glimpse of what I mean, here is a quote from the book that characterizes one of the many gems of truth buried in its pages.  This is from a conversation between Mack and the Holy Spirit:

"Mackenzie, religion is about having the 'right answers', and some of its answers are right.  But I am about the process that takes you to the LIVING ANSWER, and once you get to Him, He will change you from the Inside.  There are a lot of smart people who are able to say a lot of right things from their brains because they have been told what the right answers are, but they don't know me at all.  So really, how can their answers be right even if they are right if you know understand my drift?  So even thought they may be right, they are still wrong."

Do you know God by what others have taught you or do you know God through your own experience?  Read Mack's story.  I'm so glad I did.  I know it is not good etiquette to underline in a library book, but I could not help myself.  (I only hope it is NOT a Federal Offense!!!)

I love how the Holy Spirit brought this book to my hands the way He did.  It was His wisdom to use my unbelieving, God-mocking friend to deliver it to me.  I have thanked Jack several times and I have invited him to go to "The Shack" with me to meet God.  He's not ready yet.

Check out:   www.theshackbook.com

Now I am ready for another Christian Fiction novel to read.  Perhaps a story about a canoe trip gone bad in the Canadian wilderness???  I heard about a book like this from a "world-famous author" from Wisconsin.  If only I knew who that could be.....  :-)

McFreedom