The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity

by William Paul Young

I suppose that since most of our hurts come through relationships, so will our healing, and I know that grace rarely makes sense for those looking in from the outside.

when all you can see is your pain, perhaps then you lose sight of me?”

“You, on the other hand, were created to be loved. So for you to live as if you were unloved is a limitation, not the other way around.”

Relationships are never about power, and one way to avoid the will to hold power over another is to choose to limit oneself—to serve.

Trust is the fruit of a relationship in which you know you are loved. Because you do not know that I love you, you cannot trust me.”

“You must give up your right to decide what is good and evil on your own terms. That is a hard pill to swallow—choosing to live only in me. To do that, you must know me enough to trust me and learn to rest in my inherent goodness.”

“To force my will on you,” Jesus replied, “is exactly what love does not do. Genuine relationships are marked by submission even when your choices are not helpful or healthy.

Submission is not about authority and it is not obedience; it is all about relationships of love and respect.

Grace doesn’t depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colors.”

Responsibilities and expectations are the basis of guilt and shame and judgment, and they provide the essential framework that promotes performance as the basis for identity and value.