…that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

– Ephesians 3:16-19

If you can remember back to high-school English class, there was always a segment taught on two opposing approaches to the human experience. Writers as well as artists would be categorized as either a romantic or a realist. 

Romanticism focuses on the inner life, personal freedom, and the boundless potential of the individual. Romantics often elevate human experiences through emotional depth, imagination, and a spiritual or idealized connection to nature. The romantic dreams big and the result in a literary sense is that everything turns out good. It is an idealistic approach that leaves the reader satisfied, elated and hopeful. In the end, the hero always wins and the people rejoice.

Realism on the other hand rejects idealization in favor of detailed observation and objective truth. Realists focus on the practical, social, and economic realities of daily life, shedding light on social issues like industrialization and the struggles of the working class. Because of this, the realist paints a seemingly more accurate picture, especially in terms of hardship. The result is often tragic, bringing a gut punch to the reader. The everyday struggles and realities of the normal person bring to light the difficulty of life and the eventual losses that inevitably occur.

Every person has a tendency to lean to one side or the other in terms of being a romantic or a realist. These mindsets influence how we see the world and others. They help determine our approach and the expected outcomes. For the romantic, there is the belief that all will end well, turning out for good in the end. The realist has a quite different approach. They are continually estimating the potential outcomes, but also the probability and possibility of dangers and pitfalls along the way. They take the approach that there may be a real probability of failure.

Most people float somewhere between the romantic/realist complex, sometimes week to week. Children are for the most part romantics simply because they have had few experiences to keep them from living life any differently. However as we go through life and experience more and more pain, failure and loss, we tend to gravitate to a more realist view.

But following Christ breaks the mold. It does this simply because God is neither a romantic or a relist while also being fully a romantic and realist. He encompasses the fullness of everything and His very will reflects this. To be a Christian is to follow Christ, being submersed in who He is. Our identity is therefore changed from our old-self to who we are now. Our very view of the world and even more so of God is changed through our born-again experience. Because we now see through the spiritual eyes of the Holy Spirit, to be a realist is being a romantic and to be a romantic is to be a realist. 

The nature of sin and the death that it brings through the separated state that sin brings is tragic and always ends in tragedy. The Righteousness of God can only bring His judgement on those who are deserving judgement (anyone who has ever committed sin). It is the nature of the common man’s struggle in this world with the only eventual outcome being death followed by eternal torment, satisfying a realist’s viewpoint.

The mercy and gracy of the Father as realized through the Son brings a complete and completed romantic aspect. Because of Jesus, we have a choice to embrace this wonderful gift and with it comes the ultimate hope. 

Christ the hero always wins. For the Christian we take comfort and have confidence in the Blessed Hope while we simultaneously understand the consequences of those who have not accepted Christ.