As Frodo Baggins and his loyal companion Samwise Gamgee pressed on through their dangerous quest in J. R. R. Tolkien’s story, ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ they had this exchange:
“I don’t like anything here at all,” said Frodo, “step or stone, breath or bone. Earth, air, and water all seem accursed. But so our path is laid.”
“Yes, that’s so,” said Sam. “And we shouldn’t be here at all, if we’d known more about it before we started. But I suppose it’s often that way. The brave things in the old tales and songs, Mr. Frodo: adventures, as I used to call them. I used to think they were the things the wonderful folk of the stories went out and looked for, because they wanted them, because they were exciting and life was a bit dull, a kind of a sport as you might say. But that is not the way of it with the tales that really mattered, or the ones that stay in the mind. Folk seem to have just landed in them, usually — their paths were laid that way, as you put it. But I expect they had lots of chances, like us, of turning back, only they didn’t…”
Despite a lack of comprehension, Frodo the Ringbearer, knew he had a destiny and was compelled to reach it… though he wasn’t so sure he could. Sam, his faithful servant, understood even less, yet knew he would do his best to help his friend to the very end.
Three times in the book of Revelation, Jesus refers to Himself as ‘the Alpha and the Omega,’ the Beginning and the End. He, too, walked this earth as a human, listening to a Spirit He could not see and trusting His Father completely. Jesus knew His destiny, but along the way there would be much misunderstanding, accusation, rejection, and sorrow. Thank God, He did not turn back.
Our vision is often cloudy as we follow our Master. Oswald Chambers, born in Aberdeen Scotland in 1874 and dying in 1917 in Cairo, Egypt while serving as chaplain for WWI soldiers, often articulated the beauty of our Lord while examining challenges of the journey.
From The Missionary’s Goal:
In our natural life our ambitions change as we grow, but in the Christian life the goal is given at the very beginning, and the beginning and the end are the same, namely, our Lord Himself. We start with Christ and we end with Him – ‘… till we all come… to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ…,’ not simply to our own idea of what the Christian life should be. The goal of the missionary is to do God’s will…
From The Big Compelling of God:
Jerusalem stands in the life of our Lord as the place where He reached the climax of His Father’s will. ‘I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent Me.’ That was the one dominating interest all through our Lord’s life, and the things He met with on the way, joy or sorrow, success or failure, never deterred Him from His purpose. ‘He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.’ The great thing to remember is that we go up to Jerusalem to fulfil God’s purpose, not our own. Naturally, our ambitions are our own; in the Christian life we have no aim of our own. There is so much said today about our decisions for Christ, our determination to be Christians, our decisions for this and that, but in the New Testament it is the aspect of God’s compelling that is brought out. ‘Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you.’
From The Discipline of Dismay:
At the beginning we were sure we knew all about Jesus Christ, it was a delight to sell all and to fling ourselves out in hardihood of love; but now we are not quite so sure. Jesus is on in front and He looks strange. ‘Jesus went on before them and they were amazed.’ There is an aspect of Jesus that chills the heart of a disciple to the core and makes the whole spiritual life gasp for breath. This strange Being with His face set like flint and His striding determination strikes terror into me. He is no longer Counsellor and Comrade, He is taken up with a point of view I know nothing about, and I am amazed at Him. At first I was confident that I understood Him, but now I am not so sure… When the darkness of dismay comes, endure until it is over, because out of it will come the ability to follow Jesus truly, which brings inexpressibly wonderful joy.
Give up control; fix your eyes on Jesus; run with perseverance; don’t turn back. Be victorious!
“He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.’” Revelation 21:6-7
“… let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3
‘The Two Towers’ by J. R. R. Tolkien, Houghton Mifflin Company, ©1954
‘My Utmost For His Highest’ by Oswald Chambers, Dodd, Mead & Company, ©1935