The Shack - Discussion Questions
Introduction
Page 11
“While Mack’s relationship with God is wide, Nan’s is deep.”
How would you describe a wide relationship with God versus a deep
relationship?
Is your relationship with God more like Mack’s or Nan’s?
Be sure and read Chapters 1-3 to get into the story.
Chapter 4
Page 46
When Missy disappeared, we read this about Mack: “As he walked between tents
and trailers, he was praying and promising. He knew in his heart that promising things
to God was rather dumb and irrational, but he couldn’t help it. He was desperate to get
Missy back, and surely God knew where she was.”
Have you ever made promises to God during bad times? What is the core
reason we do such things?
Page 65-66:
In considering whether or not the note was from God, the book states:
“In seminary he had been taught that God had completely stopped any overt
communication with moderns, preferring to have them only listen to and follow
sacred Scripture, properly interpreted, of course. God’s voice had been reduced
to paper, and even that paper had to be moderated and deciphered by the proper
authorities and intellects.”
Can you identify with Mack’s understanding of God speaking? Do you agree or
disagree?
What is your take on Mack’s understanding of Scripture?
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Page 66:
Consider Mack’s take on institutional religion:
“He realized that he was stuck, and Sunday prayers and hymns weren’t cutting it
anymore, if they ever really had. Cloistered spirituality seemd to change nothing
in the lives of the people he knew, except maybe Nan. But she was special.
God might really love her. She wasn’t a screw-up like him. He was sick of God
and God’s religion, sick of all the little religious social clubs that didn’t seem to
make any real difference or affect any real changes.”
Do you sense any truth in what he is saying?
Have you ever felt that way?
Is there a way that our church can be and maybe sometimes seen by others a
“religious social clubs.”
How did his view of “church” affected his view of God?
Chapter 5
Page 67:
The following quote from Marilynne Robinson’s book, The Death of Adam, is
used to introduce Chapter 5:
“We routinely disqualify testimony that would plead for extenuation. That is, we
are so persuaded of the rightness of our judgment as to invalidate evidence that
does not confirm us in it. Nothing that deserves to be called truth could ever be
arrived at by such means.”
How does that concept fit with your search for truth?
Do you easily refute new “truth” that is not confirming to your previous thinking?
Or do you easily accept new “truth” that is not confirming to your previous
thinking?
Do you even consider sources of “truth” that are outside the normal confirming
resources? If so, what dangers are in such considerations? What dangers are in
refusing such considerations? If there are dangers both ways, then what should a
person do?
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Page 78:
Mack cries out in all his anguish “Why?” “Why did you let this happen?”
“Why.....?”
Why, in the midst of suffering, do we have this natural reaction to ask God:
“why?”
Have you ever asked “why?” What was it that you asked “why?”
Page 79
Young defines the concept of “the Great Sadness.” Can you relate to this
concept? Have you ever felt “the Great Sadness?”
Page 83
What do you think of Young’s take on God’s response to Mack’s hurting on page
83 set forth below:
“It’s okay honey, you can let it all out...I know you’ve been hurt, and I know you’re
angry and confused. So, go ahead and let it out. It does a soul good to let the
waters run once in a while — the healing waters.”
Have you ever felt that response from God? What did it feel like?
Chapter 6
Page 88 and 89:
At the beginning of Chapter 6, God begins by offering Mack the opportunity to
come in and talk while God gets supper ready. But God also gives Mack the
opportunity to go fishing or “do whatever you want.” Then on page 89, Jesus tells Mack
(as Mack ponders whether or not to go in and visit with God, “Don’t go because you fell
obligated. That won’t get you any points around here. Go because it’s what you want
to do.”
Do you think that if you had the opportunity to talk face-to-face with God that you
would want to go fishing or do something else? Why do you think God told Mack he
could do anything he wanted to? Are you okay with Jesus’ teaching that you don’t do
this out of obligation? Do this because you want to or don’t do it?
Have you experienced this tension between opportunity and obligation? How
does it play out in your life?
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Pages 92-94
What do you take from Young’s discussion of Mack’s view of God and God’s
response to that?
How would God need to appear to you so as not to reinforce your religious
stereotypes?
Page 94-95
What do you think of Papa’s introduction of the concept of “freedom?”
How did Papa know how Mack felt? Even in our greatest suffering, how do we
know that God knows exactly how we feel?
Page 96-97
Young says that “pain has a way of clipping our wings and keeping us from being
able to fly…and if left unresolved for very long, you can almost forget that you were ever
created to fly in the first place.”
How has emotional and spiritual pain affected you, who you are, and what you
do? Have you seen pain do this in others? How does pain affect us? How do we get
past the pain? How important is it to move past the pain before we forget what we were
created for?
Page 98
Papa says “The problem is that many folks try to grasp some sense of who I am
by taking the best version of themselves, projecting that to the nth degree, factoring in
all the goodness they can perceive, which often isn’t much, and then call that God. And
while it may seem like a noble effort, the truth is that it falls pitifully short of who I really
am. I’m not merely the best version of you that you can think of. I am far more than
that, above and beyond all that you can ask or think.”
This has been referred to as “making God in our own image.” Why is it so easy
to do this? How do we keep from doing this? What is the danger in doing this?
Page 99-100
What do you think of Young’s take on and explanation of how Jesus did
miracles?
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Page 101
Papa says “To begin with, that you can’t grasp the wonder of my nature is rather
a good thing. Who wants to worship a God who can be fully comprehended, eh? Not
much mystery in that.”
Would you prefer to worship a God you can comprehend? Why or why not?
In what ways have we structured our worship in the areas of comprehension?
Why?
Why do we sometimes avoid worship that is somewhat on the side of mysticism?
Do you worship your comprehension of God instead of God?
Page 102
Papa says “The God who is – the I am who I am – cannot act apart from love.”
What would God be like if God did act apart from love?
What is the connection of this concept to the fall of Adam and Eve (and, the
introduction of death into the world)?
What is the connection of this concept to Satan?
Do you feel like your own personal experience with God is somewhat like Mack’s
and it “tells you otherwise?”
Page 102
Papa encourages Mack to “rest in what trust you have in me, no matter how
small okay?”
Have you ever had to do just that? What was that like? Was that enough?
Chapter 7
Page 104-105
What did you think of the picture that Young gives us of “God in relationship?”
How does it compare with you in relationship? How could your relationships be more
like God’s relationship with Jesus and Sarayu?
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Page 107
Based on Young’s picture of devotion, how would you define a “time of
devotion?”
Page 110
Do you agree that Jesus is “the best way any human can relate to” God or the
Holy Spirit? As you look at Jesus, do you look to see God? Do you translate those
characteristics of Jesus to your view of God?
See John 14:5-9
Page 111
Where was Mack always “intended to be?” Papa says: “In the center of our love
and purpose.” When we are not in the center of God’s love and purpose, whose fault is
that? Have you felt times when you were in the “center” and times you definitely were
not? How does that feel? How do you get back to the center?
Page 112
Do you know Jesus as a real being or more like “an icon, an ideal, an image,” or
an imaginary character? When is God most unreal to you and when is God most real?
Page 112
Does Jesus live in us (Col. 1:27) or does the Holy Spirit live in us (John 14:1518)? How important is the Holy Spirit’s indwelling to you?
Page 113
When’s the last time you had a God hug? How did it make you feel? Did you
feel anything like Mack (“shaking from his own spasms of mirth, and Mack felt more
clean and alive and well than he had since…well, he couldn’t remember since when”)?
Chapter 8
Page 119
How can anger be an expression of God’s love?
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How do you see God’s anger expressed in the Bible? Who did God show anger
toward? If Jesus is the exact representation of God, then what made Jesus mad?
Does that give us a clue what makes God mad?
Do you ever feel like Mack that God must have a lot of anger? And that maybe
God enjoys punishing people for sin? Do you enjoy punishing your children when they
mess up?
Page 120
What do you think of Young’s concept that “sin is its own punishment?” How
have you seen sin as punishment? How have you struggled to see the punishment in
some sin?
Page 122-124
See Young’s discussion of “authority” versus a “circle of relationship?” Have you
ever tried that? Do you think it would work? Do you believe this concept about God?
Do you agree with the problems of hierarchy Young presents? Are there benefits
to hierarchy? In what ways do you like rules and in what ways do you not? How does
hierarchy destroy relationships?
Jesus claimed that all authority in heaven and on earth was given to him. How
did he use that authority? What is the significance of Jesus having “all authority?”
Do you use authority to conform others (children, spouse, employee, etc) to do
what you want? With your children for example, how long does that work? Is that the
place you want to be in your relationship with your kids?
If you don’t have authority, what do you have to try to get people to do the right
thing?
“We carefully respect your choices, so we work within your systems even while
we seek to free you from them.” What do you think about that and what follows that?
Page 124
Consider the following three statements from the book:
“As the crowning glory of Creation, you were made in our image, unencumbered
by structure and free to simply ‘be’ in relationship with me and one another. If you had
truly learned to regard each other’s concerns as significant as your own, there would be
no need for hierarchy.”
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“You humans are so lost and damaged that to you it is almost incomprehensible
that relationship could exist apart from hierarchy.”
“We created you, the human, to be in face-to-face relationship with us, to join our
circle of love. As difficult as it will be for you to understand, everything that has taken
place is occurring exactly according to this purpose, without violating choice or will.”
Could these statements be true? Do you want that type of relationship with God?
What do you think you would need to do to have that?
Consider Mack’s response to this on page 125: “how can you say that….you
may not cause those things, but you certainly don’t stop them.” Then consider Papa’s
response to that on page 125.
Mack: “but the cost…is it worth it?” All three: “Yes.” Do you agree that it is
worth it?
Page 126
Is God always good? Do you believe that? Can you trust Him? Isn’t this at the
core of every temptation and every sin?
Page 126
See Sarayu’s definition and explanation of trust. Based on that definition, do you
trust your mate? Do you trust your God? If not, how do you change that?
How does a relationship of true love change that?
Page 127
To end this chapter, Mack makes the statement that “I just can’t imagine any
outcome that would justify all this.” What do you think was Mack’s imagination of the
outcome of all this? What is yours? Is this a problem because of the outcome or our
limited imagination?
To this Papa says “We are not justifying it; we are redeeming it.” What do you
make of this statement? What does this possibility do to your imagination of it?
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Chapter 9
Page 132
“The choice to hide so many wonders from you is an act of love that is a gift
inside the process of life.”
What wonders of life have you discovered? Describe the process of discovery?
How is it beneficial that God seems to hide some things and we have to seek and find
them?
Page 134
“…how do you determine if something is good or evil?” Are higher gas prices
good or evil? Political outcomes? What if you think something is good, but for
someone else it is bad?
Page 135
How did the choice to eat of the tree tear “the universe apart divorcing the
spiritual from the physical”?
Page 136
Consider Sarayu’s description/definition of evil.
He says that “Declaring independence will result in evil because apart from me,
you can only draw upon yourself.” What evil has occurred when you drew only upon
yourself?
Page 137
Contrast “having rights” and “being loved”. Do we try to enforce our rights
because being loved is not enough? Or because we don’t believe that we are loved?
Or because we don’t believe that being loved is enough?
Jesus gave up all “rights” so that I could “live free enough to give up” my rights.
Am I free to give up my rights? What would it look like if I gave up my rights? How is
Jesus giving up his rights connected to me giving up my rights?
Page 138
Sarayu tells Mackenzie that “this garden is your soul. This mess is you.” Is your
life a mess? In what ways is your life a mess? In what ways is life messy? Do you see
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the living fractal (beautiful, wild and perfectly in process) in your mess? How have you
seen that? No wonder Jesus is our Mess-iah.
Chapter 10
Page 141-142
“…without wisdom, imagination is a cruel taskmaster.” Why is wisdom important
to imagination? What would imagination without wisdom look like? Is that so bad?
Why cruel?
Do you live in the present, past or future?
In what ways should you live more in the present? Past? Future?
Is Jesus a part of your future? In what ways?
Is fear part of your imagination of the future? If not, then why do you worry?
How do you reconcile fear with faith?
In what ways do you try to control the future? What of those exercises is good
and what are bad? Is there a balance? Without faith and without Jesus in the future,
then we have fear and with that fear comes a desire to control.
Page 145
What do you think of his definition of the “end” – the time that God takes back the
world? If that is true, then how does that change things? John 3:16 says “for God so
loved the ‘kosmon’.”
Jesus says that “Genuine relationships are marked by submission even when
your choices are not helpful or healthy.”
How can two or more people all submit to each other? Doesn’t someone have to
be “in charge?” Or have the final say?
Have you ever been in a relationship where there was mutual submission?
Is your marriage that way? How does this kind of radical submission impact your
parenting?
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Who exercises more submission in your relationship: you or God? Should the prayer
that “God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven” begin with me?
Page 146
Do you measure success by achievements or relationships? Or by
achievements in relationships? Do you measure success in relationships by quantity or
quality? Do churches measure success by achievements or relationships? Which is
easier?
Page 147-148
Consider the concept of “turning” from Gen. 3:16.
The Hebrew word “teshuwqah” (tesh-oo-kaw') means in the original sense of
stretching out after or a longing. (Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and
Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003
Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Read Gen 3:8-21
In the fallen state, the woman is to be subject to the will of her husband. "Desire"
does not refer to sexual desire in particular. (Gen 4:7). It means, in general, "turn,"
determination of the will. "The determination of thy will shall be yielded to thy husband,
and, accordingly, he shall rule over thee." (from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database
Copyright © 1997, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Do you think that woman’s role is different due to the fall? Is that part of the
curse that man will be in authority over the woman? If so, are we obligated to live that
way? Treat women that way? Could we have a society (even a church society where
men and women are equals in every way like life before the fall)?
What do you think of Young’s view of the role of women?
Do you see his expression of I Cor. 11:11-12 on page 148?
Page 147
Young defines repentance as “re-turning” from Gen. 3. What do you see in that
definition? Is re-turning easier or harder? How hard is it to “re-turn”?
He defines “re-turning” as giving up our “ways of power and manipulation and
just come back.” Do we try to come back without giving up?
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Page 149
According to Young, what is the key to submission? [Answer: Jesus living inside
of us].
Page 149
If Jesus comes and “lives our life inside of you, so that you begin to see with our
eyes, and hear with our ears, and touch with our hands, and think like we do…” how are
we not “being like Jesus?”
What does he mean by “Time is on our side?”
Chapter 11
Page 154 - “Among the mysteries of a broken humanity, that too is rather remarkable; to
learn, to allow change.”
How have you changed?
Do you realize that your changing is a remarkable mystery?
Page 154-155
Which of your children do you love the most?
How do you feel about them when they mess up?
Do you think that you are more loving than God?
“So many believe that it is love that grows, but it is the knowing that grows and
love simply expands to contain it. Love is just the skin of knowing.”
What does that mean to you?
Who is someone that once you got to know them, you really loved,
enjoyed and appreciated them?
Page 156
Do you, unlike Mac, believe that God loves all of his children very well?
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Are there some of God’s children that you have a hard time believing that God
loves? And in fact, loves just as much as He loves you?
Page 157
What images and thoughts does the word “judgment” bring to your mind?
Page 158
Based on your understanding of “judgment” is there any thing that you wish to
repent of?
Page 158-159
Who do you judge?
How do you judge them?
Does judging make you feel justified? Are you justified in judging others?
In judging, do you obtain a feeling of superiority? If so, then could judging be the
greatest enemy of humility?
Page 160 -161
Who in the world do you believe deserves judgment?
And if so, then doesn’t that path of judging always lead us back to judging God?
Do you believe that God has failed you? Did you ever in your life believe that
God has failed you?
If you are the judge, who do you send to hell?
Would you be okay with being the executioner at the death chamber? If not, are
you okay with being on the jury that sentences one to death? If not, are you okay with
being the prosecutor who argues for the death penalty? If not, are you okay with
electing a prosecutor who will? Are you okay with electing legislators that promise to
enact tougher death penalty laws? Are you okay with electing a President that will
appoint tougher judges that will confirm the death penalty?
Page 162
Do you believe that God sends people to hell?
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If not, then do you believe that all people will be saved?
If you get to judgment and it is announced that God has decided to allow
everyone into heaven, how do you feel about that? Are you joyous? Or do you have a
little bit of a feeling that just isn’t quite fear?
Do you believe that God should send some people to hell? Which ones?
Do you love like Jesus? How would you know? Did Mac love like Jesus? Not
really. He was willing to suffer for his children, but not for the man that killed Missy.
Jesus loved so much and so many that he died for all (Rom. 5:6-8).
Rom 5:6-8
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the
ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good
man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love
for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Page 165
Why shouldn’t some, especially the good, be immune from “the work of evil?”
Young defines the better way as “return from your independence…give up being
his judge and know Papa for who he is. Then you will be able to embrace his love in
the midst of your pain, instead of pushing him away with your self-centered perception
of how you think the universe should be.”
Where are you in “your independence?”
Are there ways that you are still God’s judge?
Do you know Him? Really know Him for who He is?
Can you embrace God’s love in the midst of your pain?
In what ways do you still struggle with your own perception of how the
universe should be?
Page 168
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Mac struggled with the lie that Missy’s death was his fault. Are there any things
that you struggle with? Could they be lies? What impact would it have on you to let that
lie go?
Page 169
“Judgment is not about destruction, but about setting things right.”
What do you think about that statement?
Is there any truth in it?
Any thing false in it?
Consider the following texts:
Rom 14:9-12
9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the
Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 You, then, why do you judge your
brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before
God's judgment seat. 11 It is written:
"'As surely as I live,' says the Lord,
'every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will confess to God.'"
12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Phil 2:9-11
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Chapter 12
Page 175
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Young introduces the term “live loved.” What was necessary for Mack to learn to
“live loved?” What do you need to do to begin to “live loved?” How would “living loved”
look different for you?
Page 176-177
What do you think of his discussion of the “timing of grace?”
So what does it mean to “be truly human?”
Page 177-178
Consider his description of the church.
Think about his meaning behind the “pearly” gates. Have you ever considered
this? How is the church a place of gathering for those who like pearls have been
shaped by pain, suffering and death? How would the church look different to the world
if that was the case?
How do you think the world would respond to the church if they saw it as “a living
breathing community…not buildings and programs?” How would you see it differently?
Page 179
John Lennon wrote in his legendary song “Imagine”
“…imagine no religion too.”
How would you define religion? How would Young define religion? Based on
Young’s definition, what is wrong with religion?
What if Christianity was not intended to be a religion, as the world knows and
defines religion? How has Christianity, as man has made it, very much like other
religions? How is it, as man has made it, very much like what Young describes?
Page 180
Do the religions of the world give life? Does Christianity, as man has developed
it, give life?
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Young on page 180 and Jesus in John 10:10 says “I came to give you Life to the
fullest.”
If religion and Christianity, as we know it, doesn’t give Life, then it isn’t what
Jesus came to bring. In other words, we haven’t found it, no matter what we have done.
So what do we do? Do we give up or do we keep searching for the Life? What do you
think God wants us to do?
Page 180-181
Consider the concept of trusting again. Do you trust Jesus? Do you trust Jesus
to save you? Do you trust Jesus to give you Life? How do you express that trust? How
does that trust change you?
Page 181
Mack talking of “church people” says that “He knew they loved Jesus, but were
also sold out to religious activity and patriotism.”
What do you think of that statement? Do you know church people who are too
sold out to religious activity? What does that look like? Have you ever sold out to that?
Do you know of church people who are too sold out to patriotism? What does
that look like? Have you ever sold out to that?
Page 182
Do you think that Young is a univeralist (i.e. thinks everyone is going to heaven
and, therefore, any religion is ok)?
Or is he calling people beyond being “Christian” to discipleship? Is there a
difference? If so, what is the difference?
Page 182
Young writes “What it does mean is that I will travel any road to find you.”
In light of this concept, consider the stories that Jesus tells in Luke 15.
Chapter 13
Page 185
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Tragedies? What do you think is God’s role in tragedies? Does He cause
them? Does He use them? Explain.
Discuss the role of grace and tragedies.
Page 186
How do you see and describe God? Jesus? How do you see them differently?
Are they different or the same?
Consider John 14 and Heb. 1
Page 187
Have you ever thought of God’s patience the way Young describes it on the top
of page 187? Does that motivate you to keep messing up or to do better?
If that is truly how God views our failures, then how should we view others? How
does that define patience for me? How does that define forgiveness?
Page 187-188
Young begins a description of lies, truth and honesty. How does Young describe
lies? Young describes “justifications for your lies” as walls? How do you see this in
your own life? How do you build a fortress from your lies? How does the fortress hold
up? What is the cost of this fortress?
Why did Mack lie to Nan? Why did Mack think (or justify) his lies to Nan? But
what was the real reason for the lies? What are my justifications for my lies? What am
I really afraid of?
At the bottom of page 188, what is Mack told he needs to do? Where does the
fear of being honest come from? Is there more risk in lying or in honesty?
See John 8:32 –“Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
How have lies kept you from freedom? How have you been imprisoned by lies?
How has the truth set you free?
Is there anyone that you need to be honest with?
Page 188
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How is faith related to this concept of truthfulness?
And how is all of this important to our transformation?
Can transformation occur without appropriate risk and uncertainty?
When were you forgiven? When you asked to be forgiven or at the cross?
Page 189-191
Consider his discussion of the issues of selfishness and independence.
How is our independence necessary to God’s design for humankind?
How is our independence the cause of so much evil, pain and suffering?
How does God balance this?
Chapter 14
Page 196-197
Consider his view of the role of emotions. What is the value of emotions? What
is the role of emotions? In some ways, how has Christianity tried to replace emotions
with a system? What is that system based on? Is that good or bad? Is that necessary?
If there is no place for emotions in relationship with God, then why did He give us
emotions?
Page 197-198
Which is harder: relationships or rules?
Do you think that is why so often we turn to the rules? But Young says that:
“…rules will never give you answers to the deep questions of the heart
and they will never love you.”
Is there something in you (deep inside) that seems unfulfilled by the rules? Does
obedience to the rules leave you still somewhat empty and lacking? Could that be
because you were made with a soul craving for something more than what obedience to
the rules provide? You were made for relationship.
Page 203
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So do you have to follow the rules? If not, then what? If so, which ones?
What does following the law do according to Young? Do you kind of like that?
Do you kind of like control? Do you kind of like to judge others? Do you kind of like to
feel superior?
Why can’t rules bring freedom?
Page 204
What is the significance to God being a verb?
See Ex. 3:14.
Page 205-206
What is the difference between “living with expectations” and “living with
expectancy?”
How does that difference impact our relationship to God and to each other?
Page 207
Consider the following:
“Rather than a pyramid, I want to be the center of a mobile, where everything in
your life – your friends, family, occupation, thoughts, activities – is connected to me but
moves with the wind, in and out and back and forth, in an incredible dance of being.”
If that was true of your life what would that look like?
Can that be true of your life?
Chapter 15
Page 216
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“As Jesus reached the center he paused to look around. His gaze stopped on
Mack standing on the small hill at the outer edge and he heard Jesus whisper in his ear
“Mack, I am especially fond of you.”
Can you believe that God could be “especially fond of you?”
If so, how does that change you?
Can you believe that God is “especially fond of” everyone in the world?”
If so, how does that change you?
Chapter 16
Page 218
Consider the quote from A. W. Tozer at the beginning of the chapter. Could that
be true?
Page 221
“Forgiving your dad yesterday was a significant part of your being able to know
me as Father today.”
Do you have an earthly father that contributes positively to your knowing God as
Father? If so, describe that? And say a prayer of thanks for that.
Do you not have an earthly father that contributes positively to your knowing God
as Father? If not, can you forgive your earthly father? If not, why not? What is needed
for you to forgive him? Do you think that would be important to your relationship to
God?
Page 223
“I don’t do humiliation, or guilt, or condemnation. They don’t produce one speck
of wholeness or righteousness…”
Do you believe that God doesn’t do guilt or condemnation?
Consider John 3:16-17 and Rom. 8:1.
Do you do guilt and condemnation in your relationships with others? Are you
willing to give that up? How might that impact your relationships?
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Page 224-228
Consider Young’s discussion of forgiveness.
Is there anyone who you need to “let go of their throat?”
Is there a difference between forgetting and not remembering? What is it?
In your relationships with other people, who is forgiveness for? Why is that so
hard to remember?
Young says “When you choose to forgive another, you love him well.” Do you
want to love well someone who has hurt you? Do you see in this the power of the
forgiveness Jesus offered from the cross? If we did this, how would it change our
relationships?
Consider the process of forgiveness expressed in the next to last paragraph on
page 227. Is that comforting to you?
Page 228
“Tears….sometimes they are the best words the heart can speak.”
When have your tears spoken well your heart?
Chapter 17
Page 231
Read the quote from Bob Dylan at the beginning of the chapter. Have you
followed Jesus or resisted him?
Page 235
Consider your importance and the importance of everything you do in light of the
following:
“Because you are important, everything you do is important. Every time you
forgive, the universe changes; every time you reach out and touch a heart or a life, the
world changes; with every kindness and service, seen or unseen, my purposes are
accomplished and nothing will ever be the same again.”
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How does that impact every act, every deed, every touch, every day….?
______________________________________
“There is a wind that sings us into freedom….
There is a fire that burns away our bondage…..
There is a brother that knows our name!
Three singing grace!
William Paul Young
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