The Kite Runner: Hassan's Love

This book, The Kite Runner, is simply an amazing story. The love displayed by the boy, Hassan, in the story brings me to tears every time I read about his relationship with the main character, Amir. They grow up together as friends but Hassan is from what is considered an inferior race in Afghanistan. Amir becomes torn between his love for Hassan and it being accepted by those around them. I'll quote here one my favorites parts. It's one of many displays of Hassan's love that brought me to tears. Hassan was raped in an alley by some neighborhood bullies. Amir stood by watching, torn whether or not to stand up for his friend. In the end, he did nothing and watched his friend get raped even though Hassan had stood up to protect Amir countless times. Unable to live in the same house with Hassan in the days that follow, Amir plants some of his money and his watch in Hassan's room, making it look like it was stolen in order to get his father, Baba, to get rid of Hassan as their servant. This quote begins with the confrontation that ensues. I can't explain all the intricacies of the story that make this such a powerful scene but it atleast gives a small taste.


They'd both been crying; I could tell from their red, puffed-up eyes. They (Hassan and his father) stood before Baba (Amir's father), hand in hand, and I wondered how and when I'd become capable of causing this kind of pain.
Baba came right out and asked. "Did you steal that money? Did you steal Amir's watch, Hassan?"
Hassan's reply was a single word, delivered in a thin, raspy voice: "Yes."
I flinched, like I'd been slapped. My heart sank and I almost blurted out the truth. Then I understood: This was Hassan's final sacrifice for me. If he'd said no, Baba would have believed him because we all knew Hassan never lied. And if Baba believed him, then I'd be the accused; I would have to explain and I would be revealed for what I really was. Baba would never, ever forgive me. And that led to another understanding: Hassan knew. He knew I'd seen everything in that alley, that I'd stood there and done nothing. he knew I had betrayed him and yet he was rescuing me once again, maybe for the last time. I loved him in that moment, loved him more than I'd ever loved anyone, and I wanted to tell them all that I was the snake in the grass, the monster in the lake. I wasn't worthy of this sacrifice; I was a lair, a cheat, and a thief. And I would have told, except that a part of me was glad. Glad that this would all be over with soon. Baba would dismiss them, there would be some pain, but life would love on. I wanted that, to move on, to forget, to start with a clean slate. I wanted to be able to breathe again.
Except Baba stunned me by saying, "I forgive you."

I think what hits my heart the most is that I relate. I do things that are despicable so many times, especially in light of God's love shown to me. Like Amir, I've often wondered how and when I'd become capable of causing this kind of pain. It is so powerful to watch how Hassan's past love, in the face of being raped and then betrayed by his best friend, haunts Amir in his efforts to run away from and bury his past sin. It is much how Christ's love haunts me in the midst of my sin. I feel like Amir and my whole life I am struggling to come to terms with this love that I don't deserve. It painful, hard, wonderful, and sweet all at the same time. Even after a life of opening my heart to my Savior's love, I know I will still not have fully come to terms with it. But I do know that I want more and more of His love. I pray that Christ's love would haunt me all the way to my grave.