Frodo Was Right

Frodo was right (ver. 2.0)
by Douglas Love on Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Frodo was right to leave the Shire. In the concluding scene of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Frodo Baggins, having saved Middle Earth, decides unexpectedly to leave all that is familiar to him to travel to the unknown land of the Havens. It was the right thing to do.
 
Before he became the steward of the ring, he was just an average Hobbit happily living his life in the comforts of the Shire. The Shire contained all that he needed: Friendship, family, history, celebration, work, music, dance - it was a good place to live. But on his journey to Mount Doom to rid Middle Earth of the terror of the Ring, Frodo was transformed. Transformed into something far more than anyone, Frodo included, would ever have anticipated. Frodo became someone far larger than he’d ever been. And having been transformed, what used to be warm, familiar and comfortable was no longer enough. What used to satisfy, simply could not contain him. For his own sake, he had to press on for more. He had to leave the Shire.
 
And so too must we. Encountering Christ upsets all that is familiar, all that is comfortable. To meet Jesus is to be changed. Not simply a superficial alteration like losing a few pounds or quitting smoking, but a shift in DNA, a transformed perspective, a complete 180. Where we were once headed is no longer of interest, we must run with abandon towards Jesus!
 
You cannot remain the same, and go with God. I used to think: “Well, yeah, I’ll stop doing this, and I’ll start doing that...” meaning that I’d give up some bad habits and pick up some new, better ones in order to please God. But that isn’t even close to the heart of the matter. Frodo wasn’t changed in some superficial external manner, Frodo was changed at the very core of his being. All who encounter Jesus discover far more then we ever thought possible. We thought we were looking for a religion and what we find is a revolution.
 
And this is what Jesus intends when he says “you must be born again.” All of the old priorities, though good, pale by comparison. What was of value, somehow shifts – we see it differently through the eyes of Christ. Even precious relationships forged over time are altered and new relationships comprised of people longing for more of Jesus become vital, critical and irreplaceable.
 
Jesus says the strangest things like... “If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, more than your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:24 NLT). The older King James version translates it as ‘hate your own father...’ but doesn’t this contradict his message to love one another? No. He is talking about priorities. He is so amazing. His call is for us to live in a new manner, a new kingdom, with new priorities that are so extraordinary! Our love for Him is so dynamic that our human relationships appear by comparison to be ‘hate’. This isn’t a call to hatred, it is a call to extraordinary love.
 
And this extraordinary love draws us to make a choice: Will I go with Him into new lands, new experiences, new revelations - or - will I stay in the Shire? Will I release that which has been good in favor of something that is precious? Will I cry the tears of saying ‘goodbye’ in order to experience the unknown ‘hellos’ of the kingdom of God? Am I able to walk out of the valley of comfort and familiarity to the mountains of challenge and newness?
 
Frodo saw the greater vista. He knew he could never be satisfied with what previously was his source of satisfaction. He had to leave the Shire. Frodo answered the call to live his life in an entirely new way.
 
Jesus speaks to us to live differently than most, to walk out of step with 99% of those who are around us: “Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow.” (Matthew 6:33-34a The Message).
 
In this new way of living, beauty unfolds. Majesty appears. Colors are brighter. Experiences occur beyond your wildest dreams. The impossible becomes possible, the ordinary takes on extraordinary meaning. Life becomes larger than before. Joy is normal.  Laughter is more frequent and with less restraint. Rules don’t much matter because relationship creates righteousness. Stress slips away. Tears flow, but without bitterness. Empathy builds. We walk in freedom and simply don’t need to control those around us because you are safe and confident.
 
It’s good that we don’t need to control others because there will be some who won’t be happy with our choices. They will try to hold us back. These aren’t bad people, but they cannot see what we see. And they are threatened by the choices we are making, we are upsetting what is familiar and what is comfortable.
 
Sam, Merry and Pippin were broken-hearted by Frodo’s decision to leave the Shire. They stood on the dock, tears streaming down their faces as they watched their beloved Frodo sail away. As we follow Jesus into new territory, our hearts will break because we will have to leave people behind. People that we love. People that love us. People that have stood with us - even carried us - as we climbed our Mount Doom. Some of them will cling to us - “Don’t go! What’s wrong with things as they are?” they’ll plead. Others will judge, criticize and condemn us for rising up and seeking more - “Well, who does she think she is?”
 
This is the price. That I would give up the lesser - even through it kills me to do so - in order to gain the greater. Martryed missionary Jim Elliot said: “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose.”
 
In my own journey, as I began to discover new things and to change,  inevitably I sought to share this beauty with loved ones and church members. Some were excited and hungry for what I was describing. Some were uncomfortable and resistant. My change created a crisis, not just for myself, but for those who love me. This crisis upset the apple cart. Many walked away, disgusted: “This isn’t what I signed up for!”. Others liked where I was headed but weren’t willing to take the chance themselves. A few caught the vision and ran with it. One thing that I discovered is that when a loved one makes this change, it causes everyone around them to answer this question: “Do I value what is happening or is the price too high?”
 
God calls us all to a lifestyle of exploration and discovery. Change is normal for those who walk with Jesus. Regardless of the response of man, I must go with God. His calling trumps all other factors. Jesus offers ‘abundant life’ and we simply cannot get what He promises by doing life in the same old ways. We must not only be willing to die to self, but we must actually die to self. This isn’t a hypothetical idea, it is our destiny.
 
Frodo understood this with full clarity. He knew what he was giving up. He knew he’d never sit with his lifelong friends in the pub drinking ale again. He had danced his last dance under the Party tree in the Shire. What he saw through his new eyes of faith was irresistible. It held a promise that was so amazing that he was willing to give up all that he knew and loved in favor of what might be.  Hebrews 11 tells us that “Faith assures us of things we expect and convinces us of the existence of things we cannot see...” And then later on reminds us that people of faith are… “…longing for a better country - a heavenly country.” (Hebrews 11:1, 16 GWT).
 
The dynamic of a life-experience with Jesus draws us out from where we’ve been towards a land that we cannot quite see, but we intuitively know must exist. It is as if our true heart has finally found alignment with authentic hope and mandates that we step out of what we have known and have found comfort in and run towards what we do not know but we must find!
 
Once Frodo had the revelation, leaving the Shire was the only reasonable thing to do. Now the larger question is this? What about you?