Victorious!

So this weekend, I started the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  I’ve seen them all before.  This time, though, I watched them with my sister who hadn’t seen them yet.  We watched the first two.  I know the ending—the battle for Middle Earth is won, and the ring destroyed.  But in all three movies, the Fellowship and other characters are faced again and again with hopeless situations.   Good thing I know the ending already—I might lose hope with the characters!

It is like in life.  Jesus Christ wins—he has already defeated evil, and one day, he promises that “he will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).  Already knowing the ending doesn’t let despair overcome us—it gives us the ability to talk to the TV when everyone thinks Frodo is dead: “Ha!  He’s not!  There’s still another two movies after this one!” (Ahem)

In Grace Walk, Steve McVey states: “Christ does not give us the victory; instead, he is our victory!” (96)  The Bible talks about victory a ton, as well.  Besides all of the Old Testament victories accomplished when God is with his people and his people are with him, the New Testament discusses exactly how this was and is accomplished.  1 Corinthians 15:57: “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  2 Corinthians 2:14: “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place.”  Romans 8:37: “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”  I think it is so awesome that God gives us this victory, this gift through Christ!  And the fact that we are always led in triumph, and that we are more than conquerors through him!  (McVey, 96-97)  And the secret to this victory?  “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16, emphasis mine).  That’s it, that’s the key.  Abide in Christ!  “Christ’s life is the remedy for every temptation” (McVey, 100).

So today or tomorrow or whenever we got to it, my sister and I will watch Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and with the epic battle scene will come victory, even though there is despair, the ring will be destroyed, and Frodo and Sam still live!  Aragorn is crowned king, and there will be a party bigger than the screen had room for.  Kind of sounds familiar, doesn’t it?  “No longer will there be any curse.  There will be no more night.  They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.  And they will reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 21:3A, 5).

Smiling Victorious, Anna =)^2