I received the latest book in The Wheel of Time (WoT) saga for Christmas. (Thanks, Amy!!) I've been reading it in gulps since Christmas (in the midst of prepping for the new spring term---that was a WoT joke) and am almost 300 pages into it.
There's a theme in WoT that has always haunted me since I started reading it: "Men become hard when they should become strong." The contrast (which is all over this latest book) is primarily illustrated in Rand al'Thor, the story's main character, who thus far has opted for hardness instead of strength.
What an amazingly astute and (I would say) biblical insight into the human condition! What a difference it makes in difficult times to seek the strength that God supplies via our faith in His grace instead of walling up our own defenses. And what a picture Jesus is of that strength, without a shred of hardness to be found.
I hope that 2010 finds Rand, and me, and all of us, seeking strength instead of hardness, faith instead of fear.
How have you seen this contrast make a difference? How do you think we can change from being hard to being strong? (And no WoT spoilers---I'm not done reading yet!)
It really frustrates me how long that series has dragged out, I pretty much abandoned it. I will say I agree though, there's def. this shift in Rand's character where he decides he has to be cold, hard, emotionless, uncaring to be able to do what he has to do. I don't even get the impression that RJ was portraying that as fallacious thinking either. Well, I'm trying to decide if I should go out and buy the new one, although honestly its almost more appealing just to go and reread 1-6ish.
ReplyDeleteI think the difference between "hard" and "strong" is the object of our focus. "Hard" is the result of walls and barriers against people (relationships) and experiences. We barrier ourselves out of fear. The opposite, "strength", is the ability to remain steadfast regardless of the difficulty of the circumstance. We become "strong" by embracing the significance and worth God has given and shifting our focus from those things that we fear to the One who empowers and frees us to pursue true relationships, meaningful goals and fulfilling life purposes.
ReplyDeleteHappy 2010!!