You’ve heard it before– Jesus is a friend of sinners. And there’s not much more truth to divulge in that statement than that. Jesus is irrevocably passionate about all God’s children and we all know that, or at least we all should. This week I had the pleasure of watching a remarkable Christian drama titled “The Shack” and it really made me take a great pause. There’s a lot of complexity to this movie that it hits on many biblical points throughout, though one theme remains the integral part of its plot.
After losing his youngest daughter, Missy, Mackenzie is finding himself in the pits of a deep depression which drives a wedge not only in his own spiritual life, but his personal life as well. With a deep seeded vendetta, he’s not given up on finding the man who abducted and killed Missy. This takes him on a mysterious journey to the original scene of the crime when he finds a personal invitation from a name signed, Papa. Armed with his friend’s gun and a bitter heart in his chest, he travels back to the abandoned shack where his daughter was presumed to be held captive and killed. However his steps turn around when he meets a man who leads him to the deep woods– a dreamy scene painted by a cabin and a woman named Papa. Papa turns out to be a humanlike shell of God who has come to dwell with a few close spiritual helpers including the Son of God himself, Jesus Christ. Throughout the course of what seemed like a weekend, Mackenzie is reassured of God’s values and the redemption we all deserve in our own hearts. God (Papa) shows Mackenzie how he’s leading a life of despair by not being able to move beyond his hurt, grief, and bitterness.
The lesson of redemption and freeing ourselves of our own primal urge to be ‘judge and jury’ to society is what I find correlates to the parable of the lost sheep. In The Bible, this allegory can be found in the book of Luke 15.
“But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ Then Jesus told them this parable: ‘Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (Luke 15:2-7 NIV)
In life, we face these challenges almost daily without even realizing it. You know, judging others and holding onto such bitterness about what they may have done that we’ve forgotten that Jesus was a friend of sinners. While murder and the gamut of other detestable acts is inherently bad, God wants to seek out those who haven’t sought the redemption from [Him] because all children of God deserve salvation and all that [He] wants is for us to come to him and heartfully repent. In the film, Papa tells Mackenzie that all [He] wants is to have his daughter’s killer to come to [Him] with pleas of forgiveness and to accept Jesus back into his heart.
Papa reminds Mackenzie about the hurt and bitterness he’s holding for the man is keeping him from moving on and healing himself because of all the contempt he holds circling his daughter’s death. While we may haven’t murdered anyone in our lives, this lesson can be adapted to fit any sinful scenario we find ourselves dealing with. All that matters to God is that we come to our senses and seek forgiveness and salvation from Jesus because He is a friend of ours– each one of us could be that one lost sheep so far out in the field, He’s the only one who can bring us back home.
I can think of several things in my own personal life how this parable could be applied. I’ve been slighted by many people in my 35 years of living and it sure probably isn’t going to stop either. What I can choose to change is my outlook and how I approach the situations going forward. I can choose to hold onto grudges and spoil my soul into a deep, dark depression or I can choose to let God handle it and pray they find forgiveness in Jesus’ profound love.
I turn 35 tomorrow and I have such joy in my heart that I’ve made it thus far. While there are some personally ailing things which affect the way I find comfort in my daily life, I’m still breathing and that is the second greatest blessing I could ever be given by our doting “Papa.” If you haven’t seen the film, please make some time this week to watch it on Netflix. This movie stars one of my favorite actresses– Octavia Spencer. So there’s that too!
The Heart Mechanic 