become who you were born to be

there are 2 kinds of people in this world. those who love LOTR, and those that don't. i fall into the first category. for those of you who fall into the second, LOTR stands for Lord of the Rings, the J.R.R Tolkien masterpiece that has captured the hearts and imaginations of story lovers for decades.

i will take this time to confess: i have only read the Hobbit. i have not read the other books. i'm embarrassed to say that. (however, it is one of the {many} things i plan to do this coming year. )
in spite of this fact, i still consider myself a die-hard LOTR fan. i've fallen in love with the story and the characters, to the point where the lessons and parables therein translate into life and reality. (nerd. i know)

case in point: on Christmas night we watched Return of The King, the final installment of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  (the extended version, for the record).  by way of background information, for those of you that are not super-fans, at this point in time Middle Earth is enraged in a massive battle with little hope of survival or peace.  the 'good guys' are on the verge of defeat.  they are mustering strength and courage in spite of their certain doom, and fighting fear as best they can.

hope comes in the form of a man and a sword. the man, Aragorn, the heir to the throne of Gondor.  this would-be-King has been reluctant, almost rebellious, to take his rightful place on the throne.  maybe he was overly humble, perhaps under confident, possibly fearful or full of doubt...whatever the case, he chose to stay a step removed from his right as the man-in-charge.  until, one night, in the eleventh hour,  he was reminded of who he was and given the Sword with which he would fight and give hope to all men.

"put aside the ranger, become who you were born to be"

the story goes so much deeper than what i've shared, but hopefully you get the general idea.  when the film was over and we went to bed, i couldn't help remembering that line. "...become who you were born to be." it got me thinking about new years resolutions and calling and purpose.  where does God want us? are we where we are supposed to be? how do we know? more specifically i began contemplating the idea of rebellion, and disobedience.  how many of us confidently step into and walk worthy of the call of the Lord on our lives? how many more, like Aragorn, steer clear of our calling. hold back, keep quiet.

perhaps as we approach yet another new year...and yet another new beginning and second chance...we need to remember who we are! we need to be reminded that we are, indeed, heirs!!! Romans 8:17 says that 'since we are His (God's) children, we are his heirs'!! we have a calling to fulfill. a purpose to pursue. don't let distractions or doubt keep you from 'becoming who you were born to be'.

choose now to fight... i'm not being melodramatic here,  i'm serious.  we live in an age when our survival, our peace, depends on our choices to respond in obedience to the call of God.  i encourage you to search the scriptures, get on your knees, be still and listen. let God speak to your heart. and be prepared to take action.