For You...

A thousand times over. That sentence right now gives me chills. I have learned so much just from it I may not be able to describe how much. On my 8 1/2 hour bus ride home (uneventful, a little fun, thanks for asking) I read The Kite Runner. It felt so good just to read, never mind an amazing story of unconditional agape love, loyalty, sacrifice, forgiveness and a little international politics. I must admit to not being a person who typically gains more from a book than just a good read, life lessons, not something I look for. I don't think I could avoid it with this.
The story is of a young boy, Amir, growing up in the 70s in Afganistan when it was rising up to resemble a modern society. His father was a well-known and respected business man, a stoic man who valued pride and a widower since Amir was born. There was always a rift between literature-loving Amir and his athletic, 'manly' father. On their estate lived a father and son who were known as Hazaras and considered subhuman by most of the afghan culture. They lived in a mud hut and worked as servants in Amir's home. When off duty, the young Hazara boy, Hassan and Amir were best friends and grew up together.
I can't give away much more, I actually wished I hadn't even read the back cover of the book before reading it because it just gives away too much. This must be read for yourself.
Little Hassan loved his friend Amir completely unconditionally, while Amir, in trying to find himself, often took out his frustrations on Hassan. What got me is that Hassan would always say "For you, a thousand times over" whenever Amir asked something of him. I can just picture Christ saying that to us, to me again and again. If we could only understand how completely he loves us. I mean, a thousand times over isn't even close to the number of times Christ has forgiven me and will forgive me. A thousand times over. Do I challenge this devotion every time I choose to sin and essentially spit in his face? It just killed me to know that He will just take it and then when I come and ask for forgiveness Christ just says "For you...". Wow. Maybe I"m way off, but thats how I feel. I can't even tell you most of what I learned without giving away the book!
Its a must read, and when you do I would love to talk about it!