Ringing Moments - Importance of Role

"And now," said the wizard, turning back to Frodo, "the decision lies with you. But I will always help you." -Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring

There's a scene similar to that of Galadriel's, involving Gandalf that also caught my attention while I was reading. Frodo had just offered Gandalf the ring to take and Gandalf seems to almost reel back in horror at the thought. He refuses along similar lines of Galadriel, but with subtle differences that I think bear witnessing. He shows no temptation whatsoever for one, and he makes special mention to help Frodo with the burden for another. There's some back story that will help to show why this is so important that I think we can learn from as followers of Christ.

Gandalf, centuries earlier, had been sent to earth with a very specific purpose: to find those and gather those willing to resist the Evil One. He was not allowed to use force to do so, only guidance and counsel. Gandalf was one of five beings to be sent and, as the story finishes, we find out he was the only one to fulfill this charge. The others either became corrupt, lost interest, or refocused on other things. Enter...this scene.

Gandalf seemingly has the option to reach his goal by using the Ring to either strengthen the wills of those around him or make up for the weakness of those around him. By his reaction, he seems to have thought about it and reached his conclusion, making his decision to resist an easier one to make when it finally came. Use of the Ring did not fit in with his charge or his manner. A role was given to him with limitations and a purpose. He was one of five to see it to it's end untainted. Followers of Christ have it no different.

We have a role, a calling, a purpose with set limitations and a goal. It's not uncommon for us to find shortcuts we can take by skirting around our set limitations, or focusing on the ends more than the means. The man who struggles with alcohol and has decided to abstain is invited by a non-believer to go grab a beer with him to talk. So much easier to just grab that one beer than to order water or suggest a different environment and admitting your weakness. Our calling to be a light to the world can be made such a higher priority than we make it. And if the decision is made now to do that, our future forks in the road will be made so much clearer.

"But I will always help you."

After the resistance was made, he continues to play the role he was sent for. Seeing the big picture, he knows this was not going to be the only block in the path, but one of many.

I wonder how often we have our victories and then stop fighting, mistaking the battle for the war.

Ringing Moments - Limbo of Victory

"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.

Ringing Moments - Galadriel's Test

"I passes the test," she said. "I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel."
-Galadriel, The Fellowship of the Ring

Galadriel's testing has always struck me as a stroke of moral genius on the part of Tolkien. To me, it is one of the priceless gem moments in the story of the Lord of the Rings, because it is an example of choosing what's right over what's wanted.

Anyone who has read the trilogy at one point or another wonders, why Frodo? Wouldn't Gandalf, Galadriel, or some other powerful being stand a better chance of success? And Tolkien masterfully answers the question, no. They are too powerful. And what's more, they know it. There is a humbling factor involved when you face your heart's desire and realize that, despite the want and need, you have to let the opportunity pass for the good of those around you.

Galadriel is a powerful character who refuses Frodo's offer of caring for the Ring because, while she would use it at first for everyone's good, it would eventually corrupt her and through her do much evil, much more than it could do through Frodo. In light of this wisdom and foresight, she chooses the way of righteousness over the way of power, and she is rewarded. Though at the time of the decision she didn't know it, she was granted access to the Undying Lands again from which she had been exiled from, the land that her kind desires to return to deep in their hearts.

This adds another variable to the scene. The very nature of her people yearns to return to those lands. As an exile, that craving had to forever go unfulfilled and, for her, it had almost been replaced by the desire for the Ring of Power. What a wonderful reward. By denying the temptation of the Ring, an even deeper and more fulfilling desire was granted to her.

How often do I go after the desires of my heart when, by simple (or not so simple) denial, I might be granted something more? How often are decisions and opportunities denied me because God, knowing my heart, knows that it is a temptation I would not pass. When we're not getting what we want or the road is not leading us in the direction we thought, at some point we have to trust in God that he is looking after us and those around us. There are times when we simply don't possess the wisdom and foresight of Galadriel and we simply don't get the opportunity to reject the Ring of Power, because we wouldn't have.

If this is a disturbing thought, that God might not be allowing us to make our own decisions in every aspect of our lives, there is something to be recognized. God's ultimate goal is for the world and mankind, not just you. What we need to do is make sure we're taking advantage of the moments, the countless moments, to further that goal because one way or another it will be accomplished...with or without you.