Hello dearest readers...
Perhaps you can help me out with this. I'm taking a literature course this semester on Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov and one of the popular themes that comes up in class is the call of Christians to love. In the novel (if you can really call an 800 page literary monstrosity that) the main character is a monk whose interactions always demonstrate unconditional love; he never chooses to be bitter or resentful or to seek retribution, even when he has every right to. For example, a school boy out of the blue throws stones at him (even hitting him on the head) and bites his finger down to the bone, and the main character never sought to do so much as rebuke the boy for his actions.
The questions that comes up most often in class is "how realistic is this love really for today?" and "is Christ's example and standards of how we should treat our 'neighbor' unobtainable/unrealistic?"
In light of that, I want to pose the following question to you: where have you seen the love of Christ in your life or in the lives of others around you?
Any and all anecdotes/examples from real life are *greatly* appreciated.
*hugs*
Perhaps you can help me out with this. I'm taking a literature course this semester on Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov and one of the popular themes that comes up in class is the call of Christians to love. In the novel (if you can really call an 800 page literary monstrosity that) the main character is a monk whose interactions always demonstrate unconditional love; he never chooses to be bitter or resentful or to seek retribution, even when he has every right to. For example, a school boy out of the blue throws stones at him (even hitting him on the head) and bites his finger down to the bone, and the main character never sought to do so much as rebuke the boy for his actions.
The questions that comes up most often in class is "how realistic is this love really for today?" and "is Christ's example and standards of how we should treat our 'neighbor' unobtainable/unrealistic?"
In light of that, I want to pose the following question to you: where have you seen the love of Christ in your life or in the lives of others around you?
Any and all anecdotes/examples from real life are *greatly* appreciated.
*hugs*
4 Comments:
Josh's housemates.
By
Anonymous, at 1:43 AM
first off - gotta say that i *love* Brothers Karamazov. second - maybe Dostoyevsky's point is that the point of unconditional love is not that its realistic but that it should be carried out anyways.
By
Anonymous, at 9:30 AM
So, this comment is a little late in coming... but... it reminds me of when i was struggling with whether humans had souls and whether God existed... One of the things that... gave evidence to God was the way his love worked through people. You just can't explain some relationships I'd seen without it. A parent's love makes sense as social instinct of the human race... an inborn response to propagate the species. But... the love from christian to christian surpassed what could be explained in away way as needed by the society or human beings in general or otherwise self motivated. Like... the care the youth councilors gave us... it was real love. You could tell by the way they looked at you, by the way they reacted when you tried pushing their buttons, when you knocked on their door at 3 am asking for a minute of time that turned into a whole night. It was like their love wasn't coming from them. It was impossible for that kind of love to come from a person. There was no explaination. It matched up to the idea that God's love fills one person and pours out into others through them.
By
Anonymous, at 12:18 AM
Btw, I really miss you tonight. But you're sleeping. I hope. :D And it's not like i'm upset. Just missing you. Hope you're well. SPA. ttys
By
Anonymous, at 12:21 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home