Bond of Friendship

Samwise carries Frodo up the slopes of Mount Doom

Lord of the Rings is a movie that continues to captivate me.  I was especially fascinated with the bond shown between the Hobbits Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee.  From the beginning of the story, Samwise commits himself to ensuring Frodo is safe from harm, and fulfills his obligation to destroy the Ring of Power.  Throughout the movie, Samwise provides food, protection and sage advice for Frodo.

More than once, Samwise saved Frodo's life.

This reminded me of a bond of friendship that is shown in the Old Testament, David and Jonathan.  Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.  When Jonathan's dad, King Saul, wanted to kill David, Jonathan warned David.  Jonathan helped David hide, and they parted in tears, swearing loyalty to each other in the Lord's name.

I find myself thinking about the emotions of this bond.  Very few friendships in this world could be defined as strongly as the bond shown by David and Jonathan, or even the bond shown by fictional characters Samwise and Frodo.

What keeps us from bonding so tightly?  Let's explore the definition of bonding.

Bonding is the ability to establish an emotional attachment to another person.  It's the ability to relate to another on the deepest level.  When two people have a bond with each other, they share their deepest thoughts, dreams, and feelings with each other with no fear that they will be rejected by the other person. ~Dr. Henry Cloud

Can you think of anyone in your life you have this level of trust and intimacy with?  If you cannot, think about why.  Do you have fears of rejection based on some past experience?  Do you have anxiety about your own shortcomings that keep you from sharing with others?  If so, think about our heavenly Father.  He made you in His own image.  He knows your deepest thoughts and failures, and He loves you.  He will never reject you or forsake you.

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God.  

Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.

If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced His perfect love.  

We love each other because He loved us first.

~1John 4:7, 18-19 (NLT)

Unlikely Hero

Bilbo Baggins, resident Hobbit from Bag End, in the Shire of Middle-Earth was quite surprised to find himself on a journey "there and back again."  Hobbits are also known as halflings due to their small stature, and are usually quite content to stay at home, eat and drink and be merry among their friends and family.  Bilbo was no exception until Gandalf the Grey (a wizard) named him to go with the dwarves to reclaim a treasure from a dragon.  Neither Bilbo or the dwarves felt he could do this adventure, but Gandalf assures everyone, "There is more to this Hobbit than meets the eye."

God saw a similar unlikely hero in Moses.  Think about his story.  He was trying to live a quiet life as a farmer in a quiet land when God appeared before him as a burning bush.  God gave him a huge task to go to Pharaoh and lead the Hebrew people out of oppressed Egypt.  Moses did not believe he could do it, protesting more than once.  God did not accept the excuses of Moses, and gave Moses the tools he needed to accomplish the mighty task.

What would God have you to do?  What task seems insurmountable to you?  Did you know that Moses was just like you?  He was full of anxiety and self-doubt, but with God, he did it.  So can you.

"God arms me with strength,

and He makes my way perfect.

He makes me as surefooted as a deer,

enabling me to stand on mountain heights."

(Psalm 18:32-33 NLT)

Go.  Accomplish your task.  Fulfill your purpose.  God will arm you with strength.

Addicted to Sin

I cannot wait to get to the theatre to see the new movie, The Hobbit.  I am excited that the writers brought back several familiar characters.  I am oddly fascinated with Gollum.  This is a wretched, pitiful, disgusting creature that is nasty to everyone.  What would be the draw in this character?

Gollum was once a river person named Smeagol.  While on a fishing outing with his relative, he encountered a ring, one that immediately ensnared his interest.  He refused to part with the ring, killing his relative.  His continued obsession of the ring warped his thinking patterns and contributed to his insanity.  Gollum both loved "his precious" and hated his addiction to it.  

The story of Gollum could be repeated in many of us.  So often, we unwittingly stumble upon some temptation, not realizing the chokehold that it could become for us.  Whatever it is, we love it.  For some of us, the temptation is money, for others, it is food or drink.  Some of us really have a love for mood altering drugs or alcohol.  Others fall into a trap of an extra marital affair.  No matter what it is, we love the sin, but we hate what it does to us.  Sin is deadly.  

Sin will kill us, as we continue to hold on to it.  Just look at the demise of Gollum.  He died clinging to his precious ring.  But there is a truth you should know.  Sin does not have to kill you like it did Gollum.  Jesus died to save you from the trap of sin.  He has redeemed you.  All you have to do is give your sin over to him and live in his sovereignty.  

"Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires.  Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin.  Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have a new life.  So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.  Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law.  Instead, you live under the freedom of God's grace." (Romans 6:12-14 NLT)

Resurrected!

Gandalf the Grey became Gandalf the White

Most of the time when you die, you stay dead.  That's a blunt way of looking at things, I admit.  Even superheroes have to die sometime, right?

Gandalf the Grey in the "Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring" sacrificed himself to fight to the death with a Balrog in the mines of Moria.  He was bitterly grieved by his companions on the journey to send the evil Ring of Power back to its source.  You don't see his fate until the beginning of the second movie, "The Two Towers."  Here you see Gandalf was resurrected into a brilliant white being, much more powerful and focused than he had been as Grey.  He is now Gandalf the White.  That kind of thing only happens in fictional stories, right?

Wrong.  We have evidence in our history that Jesus himself was resurrected following his death on the cross.  Simply read the eyewitness accounts in the books of the Bible by the people who were there.  Here we see a man without sin, who took on our sins, paid our penalty, and then died for us.  If the story ended there, it would still be a pretty awesome account, because it is always a great story when someone dies for someone else.  But that wasn't the greatest part.  Indeed, the greatest part was that three days after his death and burial, he rose again in a new and glorified body.  He became greater and more powerful in his death.  People who saw him in his glorified state didn't always recognize him, but he was still the Jesus they remembered.  He had all the memories of the times they shared prior to his death.

If you want to read great true story about sacrifice, death, and resurrection, read about Jesus.  He was a radical man, who was also the Son of God.  You can find the story in the book of Luke.  The last two chapters (if you like to skip to the end) are specific to the death and resurrection.

"Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread.  And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them.  'Peace be with you,' he said.  But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost! 'Why are you frightened?' he asked. 'Why are your hearts filled with doubt?  Look at my hands.  Look at my feet.  You can see that it's really me.  Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don't have bodies, as you see that I do.' As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet." (Luke 24:35-40 NLT)