There is a revolution underway. It’s not a political one, even though there has been a shift in power which is nothing really new. It’s not the kind of revolution that happens by physical force. I’m talking about another kind of revolution. This revolution is in the way we see and understand the very nature of God. This revolution is not by physical force as I just said, but it is occasionally very violent.
Just write a book called “The Shack” like William P. Young did, turn it into a major motion picture, and you’ll see some conflict break out. Just do like I did and make a post on Facebook saying that you saw the movie and loved it. Swords will be drawn by a few religious folks, most of whom have never read the book or seen the movie, but have already been told that it’s heresy by some who feel it is their duty to point these things out and save us from deception.
So, what is it about this book that has so many people on a “witch hunt”, so to speak? I’m not going to tell you what the book is about, because I want you to read it for yourself.
I would like to tell you about my experience with it, though. When I read the book I experienced a degree of inner healing from some pain that I had from my earthly father. This was not what I was expecting when I picked it up. I just wanted to read a good novel. I saw myself in much of the story. I can’t even begin to tell you how many layers there are to this story.
There were also several layers around my heart that began to get peeled back as I faced my own anger, disappointment, bitterness, and unforgiveness.
Something else I saw that I had never considered before was the relationship that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have with each other. This relationship is hi-lighted in the book and movie. It is a real eye opener if you’ve never considered it before.
I used to have the idea that it was God the Father alone who created the heavens and the earth, and somewhere later the Son and the Holy Spirit showed up and thus we have the Trinity. However, they were there together in creation. (Genesis 1:2, 26)
They have forever been in perfect relationship with one another, and the most beautiful thing about it is this: They invite us into it with them!
Yes, there is a revolution beginning and it is violent because it requires a radical shift in our way of thinking. These ideas however, are not new. They are as ancient as God Himself. I will leave you with this quote from C. Baxter Kruger:
“The life that God lives as Father, Son and Spirit is not boring and sad and lonely. There is no emptiness in this circle, no depression or fear or angst. The Trinitarian life is a life of unchained fellowship and intimacy, fired by passionate, self-giving love and mutual delight. Such love, giving rise to such togetherness and fellowship, overflows in unbounded joy, in infinite creativity and unimaginable goodness. The gospel begins here with this God and with this divine life, for there is no other. Before time dawned and space was called to be, before the heavens were stretched out and filled with a sea of stars, before the earth was summoned and filled with people and life and endless beauty, before there was anything, there was the Father, Son, and Spirit and the great dance of Trinitarian life. The amazing truth is that this triune God, in staggering and lavish love, determined to open the circle and share the Trinitarian life with others. This is the one, eternal and abiding reason for the existence of the universe and human life within it. There is no other God, no other will of God, no second plan, no hidden agenda for human beings. From the beginning, God is Father, Son and Spirit, and from the beginning, this God has determined not to exist without us.”
Beautiful.
Come join the dance.
Kevin