Quotes from The Shack

William Paul Young ·  252 pages

Rating: (458.8K votes)


“Forgiveness is not about forgetting. It is about letting go of another person's throat......Forgiveness does not create a relationship. Unless people speak the truth about what they have done and change their mind and behavior, a relationship of trust is not possible. When you forgive someone you certainly release them from judgment, but without true change, no real relationship can be established.........Forgiveness in no way requires that you trust the one you forgive. But should they finally confess and repent, you will discover a miracle in your own heart that allows you to reach out and begin to build between you a bridge of reconciliation.........Forgiveness does not excuse anything.........You may have to declare your forgiveness a hundred times the first day and the second day, but the third day will be less and each day after, until one day you will realize that you have forgiven completely. And then one day you will pray for his wholeness......”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“Each relationship between two persons is absolutely unique. That is why you cannot love two people the same. It simply is not possible. You love each person differently because of who they are and the uniqueness that they draw out of you.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“Don't ever discount the wonder of your tears. They can be healing waters and a stream of joy. Sometimes they are the best words the heart can speak.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“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.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“Submission is not about authority and it is not obedience; it is all about relationships of love and respect.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack



“...if anything matters then everything matters. 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 be the same again.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“Forgiveness in no way requires that you trust the one you forgive.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“All I want from you is to trust me with what little you can, and grow in loving people around you with the same love I share with you. It's not your job to change them, or to convince them. You are free to love without an agenda.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“Forgiveness is not about forgetting. It is about letting go of another person's throat.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“Pain has a way of clipping our wings and keeping us from being able to fly.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack



“Just because I work incredible good out of unspeakable tragedies doesn't mean I orchestrate the tragedies. Don't ever assume that my using something means I caused it or that I need it to accomplish my purposes. That will only lead you to false notions about me. Grace doesn't depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colors.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“I don't need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment, devouring you from the inside. It's not my purpose to punish it; it's my joy to cure it.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“So many believe that it is love that grows, but it is the knowing that grows and love simply expands to contain it.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“Life takes a bit of time and a lot of relationship.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“Sometimes honesty can be incredibly messy”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack



“Remember, the people who know me are the ones who are free to live and love without any agenda."

Is that what it means to be a Christian?" It sounded kind of stupid as Mack said it, but it was how he was trying to sum everything up in his mind.

Who said anything about being a Christian? I'm not a Christian."

The idea struck Mack as odd and unexpected and he couldn't keep himself from grinning. "No, I suppose you aren't."

They arrived at the door of the workshop. Again Jesus stopped. "Those who love me come from every system that exists. They were Buddhists or Mormons, Baptists or Muslim, Democrats, Republicans, and many who don't vote or are not part of any Sunday morning religious institutions. I have followers who were murderers and many who were self-righteous. Some were bankers and bookies, Americans and Iraquis, Jews and Palistinians. I have no desire to make them Christian, but I do want to join them in their transformation into sons and daughters of my Papa, into my brothers and sisters, into my Beloved."

Does that mean," asked Mack, "that all roads will lead to you?"

Not at all," smiled Jesus as he reached for the door handle to the shop. "Most roads don't lead anywhere. What it does mean is that I will travel any road to find you.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“Jesus?" he whispered as his voice choked "I feel so lost"

A hand reached out and squeezed his, and didn't let go. "I know Mack. But it's not true. I am with you and I'm not lost. I'm sorry it feels that way, but hear me clearly. You are not lost.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“You... were created to be loved. So for you to live as if you were unloved is a limitation, not the other way around... Living unloved is like clipping a bird's wing and removing its ability to fly... A bird is not defined by being grounded but by his ability to fly. Remember this, humans are defined not by their limitations, but by the intentions I have for them; not by what they seem to be, but by everything it means to be created in my image. Love is NOT the limitation; love is the flying. I AM love. ”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but a the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“Grace doesn't depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colors.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack



“I don't just want a piece of you and a piece of your life. Even if you were able, which you are not, to give me the biggest piece, that is not what I want. I want all of you and all of every part of you and your day.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“Relationships are never about power, and one way to avoid the will to power is to choose to limit oneself- to serve.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“Anger is the right response to something that is so wrong. But don't let the anger and pain and loss you feel prevent you from forgiving him and removing your hands from around his neck.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“It (trying to keep the law) grants you the power to judge others and feel superior to them. You believe you are living to a higher standard than those you judge. Enforcing rules, especially in its more subtle expressions like responsibility and expectation, is a vain attempt to create certainly out of uncertainty. And contrary to what you might think, I have a great fondness for uncertainty. Rules cannot bring freedom; they only have the power to accuse. ”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“Did I hear God call me an idiot? ”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack



“You cannot produce trust just like you cannot 'do' humility. It either is or is not.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“If a rainbow makes a sound, or a flower as it grows, that was the sound of her laughter.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


“Love is not the limitation; love is the flying.”
― William Paul Young, quote from The Shack


Video

About the author

William Paul Young
Born place: in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
Born date May 11, 1955
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“I explained myself like this: I did not feel adamant about saying no, but I also didn't feel adamant about saying yes, so until I felt strongly one way or another, I'd stick with no.”
― Alice Sebold, quote from Lucky


“We would bestow some pains here in minutely describing all the mad pranks which Jones played on this occasion could we be well assured that the reader would take the same pains in perusing them, but as we are apprehensive that after all the labour which we should employ in painting this scene the said reader would be very apt to skip it entirely over, we have saved ourself that trouble. To say the truth, we have from this reason alone often done great violence to the luxuriance of our genius, and have left many excellent descriptions out of our work which would otherwise have been in it.”
― Henry Fielding, quote from The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling


“Where can you taste the joy of obeying unless He bids you do something for which His bidding is the only reason?”
― C.S. Lewis, quote from Perelandra


“The reflection, the verisimilitude, of life that shines in the fleshly cells from the soul source is the only cause of man's attachment to his body; obviously he would not pay solicitous homage to a clod of clay. A human being falsely identifies himself with his physical form because the life currents from the soul are breath-conveyed into the flesh with such intense power that man mistakes the effect for a cause, and idolatrously imagines the body to have life of its own.”
― Paramahansa Yogananda, quote from Autobiography of a Yogi


“Lover? I don't know. I don't know if she loves me. I don't know if I love her. All I can say is, she's the one I think about. All the time. She's the voice I want to hear. She's the face I hope to see.”
― Sophie Kinsella, quote from I've Got Your Number


Interesting books

The Lady of Shalott
(16.1K)
The Lady of Shalott
by Alfred Tennyson
The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side
(24.9K)
The Mirror Crack'd f...
by Agatha Christie
Between the Lines
(26.9K)
Between the Lines
by Tammara Webber
Her Mad Hatter
(7.1K)
Her Mad Hatter
by Marie Hall
Benito Cereno
(5.4K)
Benito Cereno
by Herman Melville
History and Utopia
(770)
History and Utopia
by Emil M. Cioran

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.