Abel Magwitch is a hardened criminal, a repeat offender who has no qualms over terrifying a small boy and threatening his life if he doesn’t steal food and a file for him.
But one act of kindness radically changes his life. Pip brings the stolen food to the escaped convict, who also grabbing the file furiously frees himself from his leg iron in Victorian England.
Apparently, no one ever had done a turn of good for Magwitch, who is so grateful for the food and file that he turns his life around and becomes a hard-working businessman. Magwitch donates anonymously huge sums of money to Pip, a blacksmith’s apprentice, so he can raise his station in life.
Charles Dickens is rightly a classical author, because he makes us meditate about our own lives. Who can I transform with a simple act of kindness? Pip performed it under duress. Even so, it’s impact was revolutionary. How much more so if we give motivated by the love of Christ?
Mustard Seed Budget 
Spoiler alert for those who never read Great Expectations. 😀 I’ve been reading the book recently. Almost done. Glad I got past the part where Dickens reveals who Pip’s benefactor is before reading this post. heehee. 😀 Great book! He does remind us to show kindness to everyone no matter who they are or what they’ve done.
Hard to “spoil” a classic from a century and a half ago! LOL!
LOL…so true!
😀
Love this book, never thought about it in terms of faith though. So true, we don’t always see the ripple effect of our actions.
Magwitch gets a conversion. So does Pip, though much more gradual. Even Miss Havisham converts from her bitterness. If there ever were a book that teaches you that you reap what you sow, it’s this one.
Great Expectations was something of a hurdle for me in college because of its length, but the post is right on.
you have to get the abridged version!
the abridged version is 1/4 the size of the original!
This reminded me of a quote I heard today … “Something does not have to be sensational to be significant!” Blessings to you, brother!
That’s nice!
And a small act of kindness to a slave named Onesimus led to the collection of most of Paul’s letters!
That is an amazing story.
I loved teaching that novel when I was still teaching English. So much depth. I always showed an excellent version of the movie when we finished the book. The characters were portrayed extremely well. And because I taught in Christian schools, I could make appropriate biblical applications. Great story!
Which version was the best movie version?
You know, I was afraid you were going to ask me that! I can’t remember. It’s been over 20 years. What I do remember is that it was a recently-made version, so I’m guessing it would have been released in the early ’90’s. It stayed very close to the book; costuming, characterization, everything. My students were enthralled.