(if you know nothing about Lord of the Rings, this post will likely not make any sense to you. Come back tomorrow. If you know a little about it, or have seen the movies, you’ll be okay.)
The final movie of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy is The Return of the King. The movie has about four endings (more if you get the DVD with extras). One of the moments that feels like it is the end of the movie is the coronation of Aragorn as King of Gondor. After three movies of seeing him lead the Men of the West in countless battles and skirmishes, it’s almost a relief to see him finally receive his crown.
Imagine, though, that the movie ended differently. How would you feel about the movie if after he led Rohan to victory at Helm’s Deep, and after he repulsed Sauron’s invading horde, and after he inspired the victory at the gates of Mordor; imagine if after all this, the people of Gondor just asked him to leave.
“Thanks for the work, Aragorn. We’ve decided to just continue being ruled by the house of Denethor.”
Aragorn was the rightful king of Gondor. He was the delivering king who had long been prophesied. He suffered mightily on their behalf, both in battle and in love. How disappointing would it have been, after all he endured to have been denied the throne of the people he had just saved?
That is what we do to Jesus every time we seize control of our lives.
He suffered and died to purchase our freedom. How can we not let him sit on the throne of our lives? How can we not submit our lives to His rule?
