Challenges

I think I've mentioned that I am reading a book titled "The Shack" right now. It's a big seller in Christian book circles and there are lots of recommendations to read it (of course, they don't post most of the don't-read letters). I'm not finished with it yet but I'm going to take some space to write about some of the challenges and thoughts it has brought to me.

The very first challenge I had was the wording that was used to define God. The author uses "Papa" when referring to God and that just flies all over me. I'm not sure why but if I don't like it, it shouldn't be done and I shouldn't give the book much credibility, should I? That's the way I think at times, as silly as it may be.

The idea that my theology is right and that's just the way it is is one of the biggest challenges that has come to me in this book. As I read, I keep having the thought that maybe, just maybe, it's not what I want to believe but what God wants me to believe - that maybe my doctrine and my parameters and my paradigm aren't exactly the same as God's doctrine and parameters and paradigm. YIKES!

What I've determined through a little introspection is that I need to be more open to God - to open my eyes and my mind and my heart more to hear Him instead of seeing things through my own experience. Yes, that is a challenge.