"I am not made for perilous quests," cried Frodo. "I wish I had never seen the Ring! Why did it come to me? Why was I chosen?"
"Such questions cannot be answered," said Gandalf. "You may be sure that it was not for any merit that others do not possess; not for power or wisdom at any rate. But you have been chosen and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as you have."
~J.R.R. Tolkien
Jeremiah 1:6 But I said, "Hold it, Master God. Look at me. I don’t know anything. I am only a boy!"
Living a life of faith is an adventure. Just like Frodo, sometimes we wonder why we have been chosen. Sometimes, like Jeremiah, we don’t feel adequate. In reality if we have been asked to do something we can’t do, it is irresponsible to do it. So what makes us say yes when God asks us to do something. I think it is a couple of convictions. The first conviction is that God is alive real and personal. Having this conviction about God is the first thing that allows us to follow God where He leads us.
The second is a conviction that what is happening right now in history is critical to our lives and the lives of those around us. The conviction that we are a part of a bigger story and we need to play out part in that story. I love the epic trilogy by Tolkien, because it reminds us again and again to do the right thing even when we don’t think it matters. Tolkien allows us to see the big picture that players in the story cannot see. We know that if one player fails or gives up, the mission fails and the world ends even when the characters don’t realize that their actions have any significance.
Most of life is about getting up tomorrow and doing the right and simple things again. It is about taking the next step; it is about the little things. Frodo reminds me of that too. My favorite scene in the movie version is at the end of the adventure when he sits with his friends and they look at each other knowing that they will continue to do the right things at home in ways that may not seem as significant but are.
