Onions have Layers (Extra Blog Post)

When reading "this blessed house" one can apply the 3 layered perspective to the characters Sanjeev and Twinkle. The first layer (outer self) is like the earth's crust or tip of an ice burg. It only shows tangible characteristics like how one might move, appear, sound and so on. It also entails the things one might say, do, and think and how another responds to them; including the things others say to or about them. Most people usually only see themselves from this outer layer perspective and sometimes the next layer perspective, the inner layer. This inner layer includes deep memories and a sense of self, and represents the earth's mantel or the rest of the ice burg underwater. But the most important part of the onion of oneself is the 3rd layer- the Self in God Layer. This is the deepest part of who a person is. Now of course this is the deepest part of who some one is because it is the only layer that will last forever, and in this layer is who God created us to be. This layer represents the earth's core or the water and air in the ice burg.
     Twinkle is a funny and easy-going Indian women who grew up in California. She does not know very many people in Manhattan except her husband Sanjeev and an ex-boyfriend. She is curious by nature and likes to do things at a leisurely pace. The main thing she is curious about is the Christian relics that were left behind from the previous owners. She has deep memories with her husband, Sanjeev. Their parents arranged them to meet at a restaurant and she can remember what they ate, what they agreed upon, and how charming Sanjeev was when he filled her teacup up. Sanjeev is an Indian man who studied engineering at MIT and now works for a firm with a dozen people under him who will do whatever he asks of them. He is an overachiever and is being considered for a vice presidential position. Both are Hindus and Sanjeev does not have as much tolerance as Twinkle when it comes to Christianity. Although he does show some respect to Twinkle by making compromises to keep the Christian paraphernalia that she wants to keep. He has deep memories about the first time he told Twinkle he loved her at the movie theater. The third layer does not apply to these characters because they do not believe in God. It is impossible for the reader to know who these characters are in God because no one fully knows who they are in God. The ignorance of not knowing ourselves in God is a product of Adam and Eve's fall from God. However, we can imply at least one significant characteristic about any living person; God created them. With this in mind, our understanding of other people and how we as Christ followers should act towards them should drastically change the lens in which we view them.