EVERYONE NEEDS A SAMEWISE GANGEE

A good friend of mine shot me off an email right after we announced plans to launch a church in Birmingham. He's one of the smartest guys I know with a strong background in literature. His email, along with a book I'm reading, sent my mind into overdrive... Heres' the exchange...

My Friend:

"We're all goners if God isn't involved, man. I'm excited for you and Janet. One thing to remember since you used the word 'adventure': in epic stories (like Homer's Odyssey, for instance), there's always a call to adventure which is answered (willingly or unwillingly) by the hero, but there's also always a trip to the underworld. When it gets tough, remember the hero always comes out victorious on the other side!!"


Here's My Response:

"Man, this email spoke to me in a big way. Just this morning, before reading your email, I read the following few paragraphs out of book I’m reading...

After narrowly escaping complete devastation, Samwise Gamgee, the trusted friend of Frodo Baggins from the trilogy Lord of the Rings, looks at Frodo, who has just said in exhaustion and exasperation from having to carry the responsibility of saving the world, “I can’t do this...”

Sam inspires Frodo to carry on... I love this piece of dialogue...

“It’s like the great stories, Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end, because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folks in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going because they were holding on to something.”

“What are we holding on to, Sam?” Frodo sighs, still overcome by the near defeat ...

Determined to help Frodo. Sam lifts him to his feet, looks him sternly in the eye and says, “That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.” (Neil Cole, Search and Rescue: Becoming A Disciple Who Makes A Difference, Baker Books)

I believe that!

Imagine reading those paragraphs and then opening up this email where you’ve basically laid out the same scenario. Thanks. Thanks for the reminder to stay in the fight. Thanks for the reminder that every GREAT STORY has conflict... Thanks for reminding me that there’s something worth fighting for... That there’s always a trip to the underworld, but it’s a necessary part of the adventure... And only in fighting those battles can we know the glory of victory and really experience the power of God.


Is your life an adventure? Have you taken a trip to the "underworld" lately? If so, are you thoroughly convinced, "Nothing can ever separate you from the love of God in Christ..."?

Hang in there! In the words of P.O.D., "It can't rain forever."

Keep believing.