I'm a big Lord of the Rings fan. I'm not sure if it has to do with the Christian undertones of the movie, the great battle scenes, or just the great story. But it never gets old to me. And I am always finding something new in it.
I have been thinking recently about everything going on in the world- the news of ISIS, the godlessness in our culture, the falling away of my generation from the church. It does not seem like things are really progressing. There is still so much suffering in the world, not to mention religious persecution amongst people of different faiths.
This brings me back to the final scene in Lord of the Rings, when all the men have gone to the black gate in one desperate act to defeat evil. It is at this point that the messenger of Sauron brings out Frodo's mithril coat. The enemy is declaring that it has captured Frodo and gotten hold of the ring. They are claiming the power of the ring which would give them certain victory. But it is all a lie.
Fortunately, Aragorn sees through this as he declares "I do not believe it. I will not." They refuse to let the deceptions of the enemy deter them at all in battle, and they charge the army of orcs despite being completely surrounded.
In the bible, after Peter tells Jesus that he believes he is the son of god, Jesus says in Matthew 16:17-19 (paraphrasing)-
"Blessed are you Peter. Upon this rock I will build my church. And the gates of hell will not prevail against it".
Jesus is basically saying that through believing in him can we overcome the enemy. And no matter how much it looks like the Devil has a hold on in our world, we can charge and God will give us victory. Maybe we have been believing the lies for too long. Maybe we have convinced ourselves that Frodo has been captured and the enemy has the ring. Maybe its time to charge.
