I often imagine this is how the Lord viewed us before He chose to send His Son. I can see Him looking down at us after His 400 years of silence and recognizing that the people He loved did not need to be conquered. They needed to be healed.
It is my prayer that I may be like Merry and Pippin this Christmas season. That those I am with may know that I have endured hardship and face uncertainty, but that they will not guess that it had ever been truly terrible from my speech. I hope they instead hear from me that while something may have been hard, it has also been worth it.
As much as I would like to pat Christians on the back and tell them it’s perfectly fine to retreat when the days are dark and evil, I can’t. We may be living in a post Roe America, and praise the Lord for it, but it is in large part due to the five Justice’s that didn’t go stick their heads in the sand and ignore this crucial, heartbreaking, unlawful issue. Now it is up to us to continue the fight, to advance the Kingdom, to be beacons of light in our little corners of the world.
My challenge for us today is this: do not succumb to blindness in a world which is predominately overtaken with it. Be the person who sits down with Scripture, who sits down with Jesus, and allow it to awaken your wonder anew. Allow it to shape you into a person who simply will not fit the mold of society, and who dares break the mold with their heroic courage in continuing the greatest Story ever told.
Though dragons have always been a part of our world, we know that the endings of dragons have also echoed through the pages of history. Let us remember that our Knight is no longer a babe in a manger, but is grown, into the Heavenly Warrior He was always meant to become, and His sword is now drawn.
As much as I would like to pat Christians on the back and tell them it’s perfectly fine to retreat when the days are dark and evil, I can’t. We may be living in a post Roe America, and praise the Lord for it, but it is in large part due to the five Justice’s that didn’t go stick their heads in the sand and ignore this crucial, heartbreaking, unlawful issue.
You see, the reason I always felt so much happier and more content around Christmas time, is because of the small things, that kept the darkness at bay for the month of December. The small things that changed a little girl’s view of the world, even for a short time.
I believe that a childlike faith actually consists of this thought that we are merely a small part in the big scheme of life, but we take pride in Jesus wanting to use us. We still see those endless possibilities, but they are now cultivated by God, and used to help us step off the shore and dive into an ocean of incredibility.
In the next scene, he comes to and is sitting in his armchair with a cup of tea while he and Gandalf have an exchange that I believe is very important. Listen closely to what is said. “I’ll be fine, just let me sit quietly for a moment,” said Bilbo. “You’ve been sitting quietly for far too long!” Was the response Gandalf gave.
The Few 