Greater Love
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4. Tami isn’t a typical young woman. Not a typical summer clerk or a typical practicing lawyer. She’s not like most twenty-somethings. Tami is thoughtful, reasonable, submits to authority, is not afraid to defend her beliefs. Have you ever known someone like Tami? What did you most admire about her? Can you imagine what difficulties you might encounter in a friendship with her?
5. It’s common to feel like God isn’t answering our prayers. Several incidences occur in the novel where prayer makes a clear and certain path for a supernatural occurrence. Did seeing the fruits of those prayers inspire you to pray more? Or perhaps pray differently?
6. Tami’s approach to tackling a large problem is to separate it into manageable parts. It’s similar to the adage “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” Think of a time in your life when you did this—or wish you’d done this. Share with the group.
7. Supernatural events occur a few times in this series. When Zach prays over Mr. Callahan. When Sister Dabney gives various prophecies. When Tami prays for Vince during the bar exams. Discuss a time when something supernatural happened to you or someone you love.
8. Share an instance when it was Tami who focused on human love while Julie showed “Greater Love.”
9. Tami makes this assessment: “While in law school, I’d often imagined what it would be like to practice law. During those times, I assumed the serious challenges to my convictions would originate from those with a worldly perspective. I never considered the more difficult tests would come from people of faith.” Have you ever been in a situation when you had to challenge other believers and found it as difficult—or maybe more difficult—than challenging a nonbeliever? Share an example.
10. Do Tami and Jessie have anything in common? Discuss.
11. Share how each of the characters below exemplified “Greater Love:”
• Tami
• Julie
• Mrs. Fairmont
• Jessie
• Vinny