"Frodo, neither the Voice nor the Eye: free to choose, and with one remaining instant to do so. He took the Ring off his finger." -Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
The struggle. Daily, even minute by minute at times. So accurately described in so many places, and yet no easier to deal with each time.
We are neither the Voice nor the Eye, the Holy Spirit nor the Spirit of Evil. We are the agent in the middle, free to choose and at times with only an instant to do so.
"But i see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind..."
Freed from the bondage of sin, and yet not yet given our new bodies, we find ourselves in limbo, struggling to listen to the Voice of God and constantly aware of being under the ever watchful Eye of the Accuser. This classic struggle of good versus evil is masterfully rendered by Tolkien with Frodo fighting to take off the Ring before he is found and over taken by the Enemy.
"Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me..."
But we have a hope. We know our sins no longer condemn us, for there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. We know that there is an ever present second chance for the prodigal children, that our mistake of not taking the Ring off in time is never the final word. Paul's parallel to this scene in Romans 7:15-25 ends with this ringing declaration of victory, "Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Thanks be to God indeed, that our struggle is not in vain and that we have more than the Voice to help, but also the strength of God and the freedom of Christ to see us persevere until the end.
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