In this conversation, Brian Brown, Sarah Howell, Jeremiah England, and Christina Brown delve into the themes presented in 'A Gentleman in Moscow' by Amor Towles, focusing on the character Count Rostov and his experiences within the confines of a hotel.

Such a story helps us engage our confines -- After all, in winter, we’re stuck inside a lot, which reminds us of the limits that come with constricted space. Monotony, potentially bad habits and patterns, irritation from friction with or noise from people around us, etc. We’re kinda conditioned to view limits as confining; to want freedom and choice and autonomy. Even if we pay lip service to the value of limits, as soon as we experience a new one, we typically respond with frustration, rebellion, grief, and so on. 

But Christian writers, from ancient mystics to contemporary novelists, have seen limits–whether on our desires or even our physical space–as something very different.

Maybe there’s a way to learn to be the kind of person who is sharpened, grown, and even set free by limits. To not just live well within them, but be unleashed by them to build new strength, transform our desires, love more deeply, create more beautifully, and stretch into the person God is making us to be.