Letting Go

What is it about self-centered, sinful and carnal attitudes and actions that so entice me as a human being? Every experience of worship we have in church reminds us the only way to please a holy God is total capitulation of self and full embrace of His plan for our lives. But why is that so difficult? Now if His plan looks good and is in complete accordance with the way I envisioned things going, that’s cool – AWESOME! But as soon as His plan and will no longer run in congruence with mine, I have a choice to make. In Hebrews 10:19, Paul referred to that choice as “ENTERING IN.” He describes it as a positive and bold choice to enter in to the holiest place with Christ daily. We are empowered, Paul says, to make the right choices.

One of the most thorough and understandable allegories illustrating this daily battle against the temptation to glorify self comes from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings saga. With Tolkien and C.S. Lewis being friends and contemporaries, they inspired each other in writing these allegorical fantasies with higher spiritual and theological meaning. Among Lewis's writings were the Chronicles of Narnia and Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings and others.
Without going into detail and retelling a story that most are certainly familiar with by now, just be reminded of our 4 ½ foot tall hobbit hero, Frodo Baggins who is given the daunting task of weathering the storms and the wilds of the underworld to save the world – Middle Earth as Tolkien named it. It has fallen to his fate to return the ring of awesome power and corrupt temptation to it’s place of origin where there and only there can it be destroyed. The very existence and presence of this ring draws evil and strengthens doubts and paranoia. Others have been in possession of this ring in the past only to self-destruct due to the seduction of absolute power from the ring.
Interestingly, after battling and surviving everything from fatigue, to battle injuries, near drowning, deadly animal attacks and even devastating loss of friendship – the most daunting task, by far, was coming to the very point of giving up the ring for the sake of saving Middle Earth – and he hesitates in the face of his greatest test and temptation. Can he let go of the ring? Can he let go of the notoriety and the feeling of power and importance – being chosen? Can he let go of SELF?
WHO IS THE LORD OF THE RING?