Hobbit thoughts

Having finished The Return of the King last night, I was inspired to write downs some thoughts that struck me especially on this viewing. Here is one, and more may follow later. (Images are from here.)

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“Throw it in the fire! What are you waiting for?”

He struggled. He tried. The bravest, best hobbit had come all this way and made so many sacrifices.

Just let it go, Sam pleaded. But he can’t. The Ring has taken hold. No, Sam. The Ring is mine.

At that moment, even as we mourn with Sam for his friend, we know that what flashes in those eyes no longer wants deliverance. It is horrible as Anakin turning to the Dark Side, Obi Wan powerless to stop his friend’s self-destruction. Worse, in Frodo’s case, because he can’t even claim reason and love to be his downfall. It is a gut-like, hungry evil, and has consumed all the goodness that tried so hard to fight.

Does sin really make us this hideously disgusting to the One who loves us most when we are fallen?

And he disappears, even as do all who grasp for control and mastery. Wraiths, ghosts, empty- counterpoints of fellowship. Some never know the bite of loosing their Precious, or the saving hand offering life freely.