What I Learned From Hobbits
Some people seem to be unaffected by the Lord of the Rings obsession of the past decade or so. I am not one of those people.
I was inducted into the cult-like following after a movie-watching marathon in 2003 that culminated with the premier showing of Return of the King at midnight in December. Not much of a fan before that, I gathered with a group of friends at Walta's house to watch both The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers back-to-back in one day, which turned out to be a six hour venture on its own. By the end of The Two Towers I had been caught up in J. R. R. Tolkien's epic storyline and couldn't wait until midnight of the next day to see the finale of Frodo and Gandalf's adventure.
I was not disappointed. A large group, mostly from the old Savior's youth group, filed into the movie theater a few minutes before 12a that night with coffee in our blood and expectation in our souls. The movie didn't end until close to 3a, and I don't even remember getting tired. With each changing scene I was quite literally on the edge of my seat, anxiously wringing my hands as the ring gradually seduced and transformed Frodo into a suspicious maniac, and as armies brought their reinforcements to the defining battle of middle earth. More embarrassingly, I wept as Sam stayed true to his friend, good ultimately won over evil, and Aragorn was finally crowned king, married his true love, and began his righteous reign over a peaceful world.
Needless to say, I was ecstatic when I heard that the Hobbit movies were in the making. However, as I'm sure many will attest, the newer trilogy mostly disappointed. The Hobbit movies, especially the first one, seemed to lack the shining heroism, the profound maxims of gospel-like wisdom interlaced into the plot line, and endearing characters of the original three flics.
And yet as I watched the last Hobbit movie yesterday afternoon, I found myself once again with tears streaming down my face as the credits rolled.
Why do these movies affect me so much? What is it that pulls at my heart as I watch this fictional story play out to its finish? Whatever it is, the Lord of the Rings magnet has drawn me in once again, and even after three hours in a movie theater yesterday, I found myself putting The Fellowship of the Rings into the DVD player last night to pick up the saga where the last Hobbit movie left off.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has "set eternity in the hearts of men." This means that gospel truths are ingrained into our very being from the moment we are conceived. We were born for the divine Love Story that is the Gospel of Jesus. When we encounter its likeness, it moves us. Originally written by a Christian author, I believe the Lord of the Rings is brimming with these kind of themes that remind us of why we are alive.
I could probably write a good deal on this subject, but here I want to just list a few things that move my heart as I enter the beloved world of the Lord of the Rings once again. Things that move me to worship and remind me that I, too, am part of an epic story of good and evil.
Like Bilbo and Frodo, we were the least likely, chosen for an immensely important task. We love these humble characters because they are us. Paul wrote, "Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God choose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him" (1 Corinthians 26-29). Like Moses and Gideon, we often marvel that God would use someone as unqualified as ourselves - and we should! Like the hobbits of middle earth, we are weak, quirky, and foolish individuals often with little more ambition than our own comfort. And yet God loves to use ones such as us. His glory is shown more clearly through the broken jars of clay that we are.
Victory doesn't come without a fight. Boys may be more drawn to the blood and gore of battle scenes, but whether you are a boy or a girl, you have been born into a world at war, like it or not. The violent clash between good and evil, elves and orcs, Gandalf and Sauron, is a picture of what is happening every day in the spirit realm. The Prophet Daniel had the shock of a lifetime when he realized that his prayer and fasting was the cause of an earth-shattering altercation in the spirit realm (Daniel 10). Our spiritual apathy lies a great deal in the fact that we are blind to what is actually happening all around us. Our weapons are "not the weapons of the world," but our faith, love, proclamation of truth, and intercession has "divine power to demolish strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:3-4). If we do not use them, we lose ground to the enemy of our souls.
Victory doesn't come apart from fellowship. In the Fellowship of the Ring, the elven queen Galadriel gives this prophetic word to the sojourners: "Hope remains while the fellowship remains true." The same goes with our lives as well, in whatever leg of the journey we may find ourselves. God has ordained it that we need each other. I cannot fulfill my God-given destiny without you; you cannot reach yours without me. "...in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us" (Romans 12:5-6). Honoring our leaders and parents, loving our brothers, and serving the body are all essential aspects of this epic adventure we are on.
Never underestimate the sinful tendency of the human heart, OR the goodness and power of God. In another scene from the Fellowship movie, Frodo has just met "Stryder" for the first time, who will later be revealed as Aragorn, the heir to the throne. Frodo is trying to conceal the fact that he has the ring, but Aragorn already knows. "I know what haunts you," he says knowingly, staring at Frodo. "I'm not afraid," Frodo retorts, trying to muster up his courage before the stranger. After a pause Aragorn responds, "Not nearly afraid enough." Unlike Frodo, Aragorn understands the devastating power of the ring and its effect upon people. This is wisdom. The ring represents man's lust for control and power. More broadly, it symbolizes sin itself. James describes the progression towards sin: "...each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death" (James 1:14-15). This is portrayed graphically in the lives of those who encounter the ring. Some fall more readily than others, but no one is immune. We cannot underestimate the power of temptation in our lives; we must ruthlessly "throw it in the fire," even when it feels like a part of who we are, as Frodo finally does at the end of the series. We must not play with it, joke about it, or keep it close. Sin destroys.
At the same time, we should not underestimate the mighty redeeming power of God to save the human heart, make it good again, and work all things together for good for those who love him. Nothing is too hard for God. At the end of almost every single LOTR movie, the odds are impossibly against the protagonists, but somehow they emerge in victory. This is more than just a Hollywood trick; this is our story. When all the odds were against Jesus, when it seemed that the mission had failed and evil had won, everything suddenly turned. Against all expectation, Jesus rose from the grave, and he carried with him the keys to our everlasting freedom. When darkness descended and all hope was gone, the light broke through once again, and Jesus won. And he will win again in the last battle of our age.
Fantasy is when we retreat from this world to a false one, whether in the mind or in the emotions. These movies, along with any other TV show, novel, or website can be used to that destructive end. But inspiration is when a story or concept, whether real or fictional, moves us to live more excellently in the real world. The Lord of the Rings movies, including the recently released Hobbit movie, inspire me. They stir my heart to live more courageously, believe for greater things, and love with more abandon.
So thank you, Mr. Tolkien, for your incredible story. In its mirror I see myself more clearly. And better yet, I see Jesus.
I was inducted into the cult-like following after a movie-watching marathon in 2003 that culminated with the premier showing of Return of the King at midnight in December. Not much of a fan before that, I gathered with a group of friends at Walta's house to watch both The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers back-to-back in one day, which turned out to be a six hour venture on its own. By the end of The Two Towers I had been caught up in J. R. R. Tolkien's epic storyline and couldn't wait until midnight of the next day to see the finale of Frodo and Gandalf's adventure.
I was not disappointed. A large group, mostly from the old Savior's youth group, filed into the movie theater a few minutes before 12a that night with coffee in our blood and expectation in our souls. The movie didn't end until close to 3a, and I don't even remember getting tired. With each changing scene I was quite literally on the edge of my seat, anxiously wringing my hands as the ring gradually seduced and transformed Frodo into a suspicious maniac, and as armies brought their reinforcements to the defining battle of middle earth. More embarrassingly, I wept as Sam stayed true to his friend, good ultimately won over evil, and Aragorn was finally crowned king, married his true love, and began his righteous reign over a peaceful world.
Needless to say, I was ecstatic when I heard that the Hobbit movies were in the making. However, as I'm sure many will attest, the newer trilogy mostly disappointed. The Hobbit movies, especially the first one, seemed to lack the shining heroism, the profound maxims of gospel-like wisdom interlaced into the plot line, and endearing characters of the original three flics.
And yet as I watched the last Hobbit movie yesterday afternoon, I found myself once again with tears streaming down my face as the credits rolled.
Why do these movies affect me so much? What is it that pulls at my heart as I watch this fictional story play out to its finish? Whatever it is, the Lord of the Rings magnet has drawn me in once again, and even after three hours in a movie theater yesterday, I found myself putting The Fellowship of the Rings into the DVD player last night to pick up the saga where the last Hobbit movie left off.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has "set eternity in the hearts of men." This means that gospel truths are ingrained into our very being from the moment we are conceived. We were born for the divine Love Story that is the Gospel of Jesus. When we encounter its likeness, it moves us. Originally written by a Christian author, I believe the Lord of the Rings is brimming with these kind of themes that remind us of why we are alive.
I could probably write a good deal on this subject, but here I want to just list a few things that move my heart as I enter the beloved world of the Lord of the Rings once again. Things that move me to worship and remind me that I, too, am part of an epic story of good and evil.
Like Bilbo and Frodo, we were the least likely, chosen for an immensely important task. We love these humble characters because they are us. Paul wrote, "Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God choose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him" (1 Corinthians 26-29). Like Moses and Gideon, we often marvel that God would use someone as unqualified as ourselves - and we should! Like the hobbits of middle earth, we are weak, quirky, and foolish individuals often with little more ambition than our own comfort. And yet God loves to use ones such as us. His glory is shown more clearly through the broken jars of clay that we are.
Victory doesn't come without a fight. Boys may be more drawn to the blood and gore of battle scenes, but whether you are a boy or a girl, you have been born into a world at war, like it or not. The violent clash between good and evil, elves and orcs, Gandalf and Sauron, is a picture of what is happening every day in the spirit realm. The Prophet Daniel had the shock of a lifetime when he realized that his prayer and fasting was the cause of an earth-shattering altercation in the spirit realm (Daniel 10). Our spiritual apathy lies a great deal in the fact that we are blind to what is actually happening all around us. Our weapons are "not the weapons of the world," but our faith, love, proclamation of truth, and intercession has "divine power to demolish strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:3-4). If we do not use them, we lose ground to the enemy of our souls.
Victory doesn't come apart from fellowship. In the Fellowship of the Ring, the elven queen Galadriel gives this prophetic word to the sojourners: "Hope remains while the fellowship remains true." The same goes with our lives as well, in whatever leg of the journey we may find ourselves. God has ordained it that we need each other. I cannot fulfill my God-given destiny without you; you cannot reach yours without me. "...in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us" (Romans 12:5-6). Honoring our leaders and parents, loving our brothers, and serving the body are all essential aspects of this epic adventure we are on.
Never underestimate the sinful tendency of the human heart, OR the goodness and power of God. In another scene from the Fellowship movie, Frodo has just met "Stryder" for the first time, who will later be revealed as Aragorn, the heir to the throne. Frodo is trying to conceal the fact that he has the ring, but Aragorn already knows. "I know what haunts you," he says knowingly, staring at Frodo. "I'm not afraid," Frodo retorts, trying to muster up his courage before the stranger. After a pause Aragorn responds, "Not nearly afraid enough." Unlike Frodo, Aragorn understands the devastating power of the ring and its effect upon people. This is wisdom. The ring represents man's lust for control and power. More broadly, it symbolizes sin itself. James describes the progression towards sin: "...each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death" (James 1:14-15). This is portrayed graphically in the lives of those who encounter the ring. Some fall more readily than others, but no one is immune. We cannot underestimate the power of temptation in our lives; we must ruthlessly "throw it in the fire," even when it feels like a part of who we are, as Frodo finally does at the end of the series. We must not play with it, joke about it, or keep it close. Sin destroys.
At the same time, we should not underestimate the mighty redeeming power of God to save the human heart, make it good again, and work all things together for good for those who love him. Nothing is too hard for God. At the end of almost every single LOTR movie, the odds are impossibly against the protagonists, but somehow they emerge in victory. This is more than just a Hollywood trick; this is our story. When all the odds were against Jesus, when it seemed that the mission had failed and evil had won, everything suddenly turned. Against all expectation, Jesus rose from the grave, and he carried with him the keys to our everlasting freedom. When darkness descended and all hope was gone, the light broke through once again, and Jesus won. And he will win again in the last battle of our age.
Fantasy is when we retreat from this world to a false one, whether in the mind or in the emotions. These movies, along with any other TV show, novel, or website can be used to that destructive end. But inspiration is when a story or concept, whether real or fictional, moves us to live more excellently in the real world. The Lord of the Rings movies, including the recently released Hobbit movie, inspire me. They stir my heart to live more courageously, believe for greater things, and love with more abandon.
So thank you, Mr. Tolkien, for your incredible story. In its mirror I see myself more clearly. And better yet, I see Jesus.
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