I would have to say "The Shack" by William P. Young. It's an incredible book and it changed my views on multiple things. The most important thing it taught me is that forgiveness is a HUGE priority for a Christ follower - no matter what the circumstance. In this book, Mack's (the main character) little daughter is kidnapped and then murdered in a shack, which he finds a few years after her death took place. But when he found "the shack," God encountered him and told him the only way he was going to heal from his daughter's death was if he forgave her killer. Obviously, he didn't take to it very well at first, but he did eventually come to forgive the murderer. This book made me realize how very important it is to forgive others no matter what they've done or the extent of hurt they've caused you. Even though it's difficult to forgive sometimes, it does free you, and I believe it's the only way to free you from whatever happened to you. God explained to Mack that his little girl was in a much better place and doesn't even remember what had happened to her, and He even gave Mack a glimpse of how happy his daughter was to be in Heaven.This book also gave me a different perspective on something a little less important. In the book, Mack's wife refers to God as "Papa," which Mack has a hard time grasping. I thought it was strange at first too, but then I thought about how important it is that we realize God really IS our Father, and whatever it takes for us to realize that - by all means do so. I don't refer to Him as Papa or Daddy but now when I pray, I take the time to call Him my Father, and worship Him as not only my Savior, but as my Father. The cool thing is, by the end of the book, Mack was also referring to God as Papa ;) Goodness, just writing about this gives me the chills! Maybe I need to read it again, ha! I do recommend this book to everyone, even non-Christians. It could actually give anyone a whole new perspective of who God really is, and how much He really loves us.
No comments:
Post a Comment