the shack.

The Shack by Wm. Paul Young. (I think the 'Wm' means William).

This is a really good book. It follows the story of Mackenzie Allen Phillips who loses his youngest daughter, Missy, to a kidnapper/murderer during a family holiday. A police search finds Missy's bloodstained dress in an old abandoned shack in the forest. Missy's body wasn't recovered.
Years later Mackenzie finds a note in his letterbox inviting him to return to the shack. The note is signed by God. So Mack drives back to the shack after much debate with himself and lying to his wife. And there at the shack, Mackenzie meets God.

The book seeks to answer the question 'if God is so good, why do bad things happen?' As Mack spends the weekend with God the Father (in the form of an African American woman named Papa), God the Son (a Middle Eastern man - named Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit (an Asian woman named Sarayu), they answer his questions and help him to understand certain theological truths. And in doing so, help the reader to understand these truths.

Mack looked at her [Papa], looked at the timer, and sighed. "I feel totally lost."
"Then let's see if we can find you in this mess."
Almost as if on cue, a blue jay landed on the kitchen windowsill and began strutting back and forth. ...
"Consider our little friend here," she began. "Most birds were created to fly. Being grounded for them is a limitation within their ability to fly, not the other way around." She paused to let Mack think about that statement. "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."
Mack nodded his head, not so much in full agreement, but more as a signal that at least he understood and was tracking. That seemed simple enough.
"Living unloved is like clipping a bird's wings and removing its ability to fly. Not something I want for you."
There's the rub. He didn't feel particularly loved at the moment.
"Mack, pain has a way of clipping our wings and keeping us from being able to fly." ... "And if it's left unresolved for very long, you can almost forget that you were ever created to fly in the first place."

"So, who is it that I am supposed to judge?"
"God" -she [Wisdom personnified as Sophia] paused- "and the human race." ...
Mack was dumbfounded. "You have got to be kidding!" he exclaimed.
"Why not? Surely there are many people in your world you think deserve judgement. There must be at least a few who are to blame for so much of the pain and suffering. What about the greedy who feed off the poor of the world? what about the ones who sacrifice their young children to war? What about the men who beat their wives, Mackenzie? What about the fathers who beat their sons for no reason but to assauge their own suffering? Don't they deserve judgement, Mackenzie?" ... "What about the man who preys on innocent little girls? What about him, Mackenzie? Is that man guilty? Shouldn't he be judged?"
"Yes!" screamed Mack. "Damn him to hell!"
"Is he to blame for your loss?"
"Yes!"
"What about his father, the man who twisted his son into a terror, what about him?
"Yes, him too!"
"How far do we go back, Mackenzie? ... what about God? God started this whole thing. Is God to blame?" ... She continued, "Isn't that your just complaint, Mackenzie? That God has failed you, that he failed Missy? That before the creation, God kenw that one day your Missy woudl be brutalised, and still he created?... Isn't God to blame, Mackenzie?"
Mack was looking at the floor, a flurry of images pulling his emotions in every direction. Finally he said it, louder than he intended, and pointed his finger right at her: "Yes! God is to blame!" The accusation hung in the room as the gavel fell in his heart.
"Then," she said with finality, "if you are able to judge God so easily, you certainly can judge the world." ... "You must choose two of your children to spend eternity in God's new heavens and new earth, but only two." [Mack has 4 children plus Missy].
"What?" he erupted, turning to her in disbelief.
"And you must choose three of your children to spend eternity in hell."
...
"I can't do this," he said softly.
"You must," she replied.
"I can't do this," he said louder and more vehemently.
"You must," she said again, her voice softer.
"I...will...not...do...this!" Mack yelled, his blood boiling hot inside him.
"You must," she whispered.
"I can't. I can't. I won't!" he screamed, and now the words and emotions came tumbling out. ... "Could I go instead? If you need someone to torture for eternity, I'll go in their place. Would that work? Could I do that?" He fell at her feet, crying and begging now. "Please let me go for my children. Please, I would be happy to... Please, I am begging you. Please...please..."
"Mackenzie, Mackenzie," she whispered. ... "Now you sound like Jesus. You have judged well, Mackenzie. I am so proud of you!"
"But I haven't judged anything," Mack offered in confusion.
"Oh, but you have. You have judged them worthy of love, even if it costs you everything. That is how Jesus loves."

I have the book if anyone wants to borrow it. It contains a lot more eye-opening conversations.