The Hobbit: An Unexpected Lesson

          Tonight I had the opportunity to go see the recently released movie “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Adventure.” I enjoyed the movie. I found that I greatly appreciated the symbolism throughout and overall it was entertaining. However, I did not expect to see what I saw as I drove home after the movie.

            Being the inquisitive thinker that I am, on the way out to the car I turned to my friend and asked what I thought to be a valid (and obvious) question.  In all honesty, it was asked half jokingly, “Why couldn’t they (Gandalf, Bilbo and the Dwarves) simply call the Eagles to begin with and fly? It would have been so much easier!” I thought it was clever and a legitimate point. However, my friend’s blatant answer quickly provided clarity, “because there wouldn’t be a movie!” At the time we were both joking and laughed it off. However, as I drove home, the scope of the question and answer hit me. Why didn’t they simply fly? Because there wouldn’t be a movie. How simple and yet profound! Let me explain what I mean.

            From the beginning of Creation man has had one major problem. Any philosophical mind will quickly gravitate to the problem of evil. How can a good God (if there is a God, which there is, and if He is good, which He is) possibly allow such evil in our world? In other words, why don’t they simply fly? Why doesn’t God make everything good and perfect right now? Why must there be suffering? Why must there be sin? Why must innocent lives be taken? And why do evil people so often seem to prosper? These are questions that I have personally wrestled with and I’m sure many of you have as well. It doesn’t seem to make sense! Again, why don’t they simply fly?

            First, let me say that ultimately no one knows the answer to this question in its full extent. If we could get into the mind of God (so to speak), then maybe we could get a glimpse of the vastness of His plan. Yet, we know this is impossible. With that in mind, we must recognize that any attempt to see what I like to refer to as, “the big picture,” is just that, an attempt. However, I hope that my thoughts can help give you some clarity.

            So the question at hand is this, why? Why what we see? Let’s turn back to The Hobbit. Say Gandalf showed up at Bilbo’s door and said, “Hey, here’s a round trip ticket on this eagle to the Lonely Mountain, get on board, they’ll do everything for you, and then they’ll take you home.” As my friend stated, there would not be a movie! Where would the fights be? Where would the adventure be? Where’s the victory? The faith? The lessons learned? No one wants to go see The Hobbit if it’s just Bilbo flying on some eagle. We go to see something we can relate to!

Sure most of us don’t have sword fights and face goblin attacks on a regular basis, but we relate to the struggle. We relate to the pain experienced by each character. Sometimes it feels like we’re just being helplessly tossed about and can barely keep ourselves on our feet. Sometimes it feels like we have no control, and it’s probably because we don’t!

Ultimately, we try to answer the unanswerable. Sometimes we can see how God is using difficulty in our lives, but what about the times where there is no clarity? I don’t know your theology, but I believe we can rest in the hands of a sovereign God who is meticulously orchestrating the details of our lives for His glory! Along the way we have the promise that He is working out each and every detail for our good as well. Not good as we perceive it, but in the much better good that He knows and brings to us through the easy and the hard, the “good” and the “bad,” the peace and the pain. God knows! I know that I, for one, don’t want to be left to do it on my own. I want to entrust myself to the One who loved me and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:20).

There are hard questions in life. I don’t know the answer to the questions we all ask. But I know the One who does. He can relate to each and every struggle you face (Hebrews 4:15), He has walked through your “unexpected” adventure already! He is walking in front of you and behind you (Isaiah 52:12), He is providing light to your path (Psalm 119:105), He is comforting you in your pain (Matthew5:4)! And most importantly, He loves you, He is showing you mercy, He is giving you grace. He has set you free! Death is no longer the end, but rest with our Lord and Savior for eternity! Please be reminded! Let these truths sink in! Sometimes there is no explanation; at least not for us. But He knows! He has a perfect plan and He is walking with you through it! Just remember, without the adventure we call life, there would be no movie! And what a great movie it is that we see playing out in front of us each and every day. What joy knowing that our faithful God is the director. And what peace knowing that one day we will be with Him at the conclusion of our adventure.