I first wrote these words in early 2002. When I read them now, I think back over the journey of the past years, and believe that we have only just entered the real, perilous times. If you remember, the movie series about The Lord of the Rings had just opened in the weeks after the horrible 9/11 attack. In that movie, the wonderful words of Tolkien jumped out at the audience. Everyone I saw the movie with felt the power and for months after, on community message boards, people kept talking about. Well, I think the point is still valid today, so take another read.
“I wish the Ring had never come to me … I wish none of this had happened.” These words, expressed by the character Frodo in the movie, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The days have passed since September 11, yet the effects continue to linger on. Whether you know someone who is without work due to layoffs or worse, someone who lost a loved one, many of us still wonder why we have to deal with these perilous times.
Of course, if we read our Bibles, we know that perilous times have preceded us. We know that we have also been warned that all the days before Jesus return will be days with no peace. And, we understand that we are players in a long struggle and that our enemy’s battle with our God engages us. We know then, that these days since September 11 have not really been worse, just that the evil has been more pronounced.
In this place, our own knowledge and willingness to act and live as Christians who “get it” becomes critical. Paul, Peter, Jesus himself of course, all call to us to live a life worthy of the calling, a life that reflects the change inside of us, a life that impacts its culture—being salt and light in a dark and tasteless world. Paul tells us in Ephesians that we must stand, we must pray, we must prepare ourselves to meet our enemy. And, strikingly, he tells us that our enemy is not flesh and blood, not human, but spirit, and thus our weapons and our struggle occurs first in the spiritual realm.
So, as you consider these first months of 2002, as you think about the love expressed so often in February, join me in praying that your own actions will bear our the faith that we verbally display. For, as Jesus taught us, it is in our actions that the truth of our hearts becomes revealed.
Frodo did not want to have to deal with his troubles, this ring that could allow the dark lord an insurmountable upper hand. Many of us do not want to deal with the issues of living a godly life, let alone deal with the pressures of our country at war. As Frodo spoke, the leader of the party, Gandalf, a warrior of light and truth, counseled him. His words chilled me at their challenge the first time I heard them in the theater and I realized that he was counseling me as much as Frodo. So, hear his words of counsel and step forward as a warrior of God, fighting our enemy by choosing actions that reflect our understanding of the times.
Gandalf replied to Frodo lament: “So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil.”
So, what will we do with the time that is given us?”
As you are rolling now into the middle of January 2011, what will you do with the time? Live well. Live boldly. Live every day!
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