March 29th, 2011

Papa in The Shack

“Love always leaves a significant mark… for you to live as if you were unloved is a limitation… living unloved is like clipping a bird’s wings and removing its ability to fly.”

-Papa’s words in “The Shack”

by William P. Young

I can’t help but think of two groups of people when I read this. First, all the people that have never really opened themselves up to be loved or to truly love, and second, all the people in churches that are bitter and angry, yet never make any attempt to resolve anything, they just complain or leave. Love and complaining, and love and skepticism cannot co-exist. It has to be one or the other. You both love and are loved or you’re a skeptic. You both love and are loved or you’re angry and bitter. Papa (Young’s character) is right; love always leaves a significant mark.

There have been a lot of marks left in the name of “love,” and the results have been and still are tragic. But in a world where opposites are true (up & down; left & right; hot & cold – you get it), for all the pain that is the result of so called “love,” there are very significant “marks” that are wonderful, fulfilling, and freeing. If you have family and friends that truly love you for who you are, you know what it means when “Papa” refers to it setting us free and letting us fly.

That’s exactly what church should be, a place where the love of Jesus flows so freely that the walls of skepticism and anger are broken down by acceptance, patience, and compassion. Jesus even said that if we only love those that love us, we get no credit for that. We are called, as Christians, to make “significant marks” on and set free those that are not as easily loveable.

I dare you, make a significant mark on someone’s life. Set someone free to fly. Love them without reason or expectation of return. The more you love, the freer you become.

Posted: 1 year ago