What a precious time to pray over our young families with children on Mother’s Day. Hope you had some good reflection and gratitude for the mothers in our lives. I saw this article this week and thought it might encourage you.

The devil appears in Dostoevsky’s novel, The Brothers Karamazov. To understand him, you have to understand his target — Ivan Karamazov: Ivan is a coldhearted intellectual who hates God, but his unbelief isn’t your typical atheism.

Ivan rejects God because of human suffering: He says no God who lets children suffer could be good.

Instead of having faith, Ivan is a humanist: God isn’t real, and religion is a crutch. Morality is man-made, and our only duty is to end suffering. This might sound noble… but Ivan is miserable. He claims to “love humanity.” But admits he “can’t stand people”

By rejecting God, he’s lost the ability to love his neighbor. The consequences are devastating. Ivan is haunted throughout the novel. He knows that “without God, anything is permitted.”

He feels his beliefs corroding his soul — his views even inspire others to commit murder… Ultimately, Ivan knows man needs God. So why doesn’t he repent?

Ivan’s problem is not a lack of belief. It’s a lack of heart — he cannot bear to love God. His pride won’t allow it.

His atheism is a declaration that he wants nothing to do with God, even if he’s real. It’s here, at his breaking point, that Satan appears.

By the end of the novel, Ivan grows ill. One night in his room, he sees a hallucination: An obese man in a shabby coat appears on his couch.

“I’m you,” Satan answers.

Satan doesn’t tempt nor trick Ivan. He doesn’t need to. Instead, he gloats — mocking Ivan as if he already has his soul.

He says Ivan’s atheism is so evil, it bears the image of Satan himself… why? Ivan’s atheism isn’t about a lack of intellectual belief. It’s about a lack of love: He hates God, and says even if God is real, Ivan would rather die than bow to him.

Ivan’s atheism is a hardened heart that prefers an eternity of hell over communion with God. Ivan’s atheism alludes to Judas: Seeing Christ — knowing he’s God — and still rejecting him. This is the “unforgivable sin”: A hardened, unrepentant heart that hates Goodness all the way to the grave.

This is why Satan doesn’t argue with Ivan. He doesn’t need to: Ivan’s heart is so hardened he doesn’t need to be tempted. Satan hasn’t come to trick a soul. It’s worse: He has simply come to collect.

Satan merely taunts Ivan into insanity: “All your ideas are wrong, and evil, and you know it, but you won’t repent.” Ultimately, Ivan’s intellect consumes itself. He goes permanently insane…

As bleak as this story is, there is a message of hope. Ivan’s brother, Alyosha, is the novel’s hero. He’s the opposite of Ivan — humble, simple-minded, and timid. He loves God, but fears evil.

He tries to hide in a monastery until his master kicks him out: “Confront the evils of the world, and love your neighbor.” Alyosha is swarmed with temptations, but his heart perseveres. He simply loves the Good too much to crack…

Ivan was intelligent, but his pride ate his conscience. Though Alyosha was simple, his loving heart fueled his valor and courage when he was tested.

This is the fruits of true love: A faith that draws virtue from the simplest of souls. A heart that loves Goodness is forged with virtue when tested by suffering.

This is Dostoevsky’s point: A loving heart conquers the evils of the world.

To conclude: Dostoevsky doesn’t run from the bleakness of life. Life is indeed filled with suffering. His frankness, however, is exactly why we can believe his conclusion. Learn to love the Good, and no evil can withstand you. Not even Satan himself.