THE VICARIOUS COMFORT OF OTHERS
The Russian writer Dostoevski tells about an experience he had as a boy. As a child, he loved to walk in the forest on his family’s country estate. Often he searched for mushrooms in the forest. One day, he heard the most terrifying cry a child could hear in that part of Russia. It was the cry, “Wolf!” Hearing that cry, Dostoevski panicked and dashed for a clearing in the woods. His scamper drove him right into the arms of an old serf who worked for his father. The peasant quieted him and held him for a few moments. He soothed his fears and reassured the lad that he would guard him until he reached home. Writing about this incident years later while in prison, Dostoevski remembered the gentle caress of this old peasant. As he reconstructed that experience he realized that in the kindness of that uneducated man he had experienced the comfort of a loving God. That…
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