This December I find myself at the movies more often than customary. Guess I can't resist the 5-star reviews that come out with the holiday seasons blockbusters. And I confess I do have a good time at the movies. I am the type who gets totally absorbed by the story on screen. First to cry at touching scenes, first to jump at shock-effects, first to clutch the seat at tense moments, and ever ready to glean life-lessons from make-believe larger-than-life reel stories. So it was with the latest Peter Jackson offering of "The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey". All I remember about the book is that I read it a looong time ago, which is to say I have quite forgotten how the story goes, but I think that's not a bad thing sometimes, since then I get to appreciate the movie for what it has to tell, instead of trying to compare it with the book and finding fault with how the director took 'artistic license' changing the authors narrative.
Certainly it doesn't match up to Jackson's epic sweeping LOTR trilogy. And 3 hours is a pretty loong stretch; the only other show I remember watching for 3 hours was 'Gone with the Wind' and yes, yes, that was umpteen aeons ago. Still Hobbit had a handsome king/hero, enuf action and meaningful dialogue to keep this old aunty quite happy. I liked the title too, as it reminded me how in real life, we will find ourselves faced with choices whether to walk off the familiar path into unexpected journeys. And I could definitely relate to Hobbit Bilbo's initial reluctance to "share in an adventure" , since 'adventure makes one late for dinner', not to mention they can turn out to be rather nasty and disruptive things! That's how it is with life,when we are asked to step out into a totally different direction. As Bilbo considered the enormity of the decision before him, he thoughtfully counted the cost, asking Gandalf the wizard, "Can you promise that I will come back?" To which the honest old wizard replied, "No, and if you do, you will not be the same." How true, we will never be the same for having taken the road less traveled.
And what an adventure this bunch of not-so-merry dwarves embarked on with Bilbo, the half-ling. However one wild escapade after another can tend to get rather pointless after awhile. It's like living from one 'high' to the next, with no end in sight. It's so easy to get immersed in the myriad activity of life and never really stop to ask why we are doing what we are doing in the first place. We can have a 'ball of a life' without knowing what life is all about really. Whether that 'ball' happens to be for an altruistic cause like saving planet Earth or just plain partying away every weekend. Bilbo's reason for sticking it out with a band of dwarves 'not of his kind' and risking his own life was so touchingly profound, when he told the dwarf-king Thorin very quietly and simply, "I know you doubt me. I know you always have. I often think of Bag End. That's where I belong. That's home. You don't have one. It was taken from you, but I will help you get it back if I can."
Home. They say home is where the heart is. I venture that most of us who have a home can't wait to get back to it after a hard day's work. Likewise even when I am overseas, I 'itch' to get home after 4 days, no matter how enjoyable the vacation. So it is with every missions trip when I am away for 10 days, in my heart, I can't stop the 'count-down' to home. That's why I am particularly affected by the homeless who gather every Saturday at the street-feeding programme I am involved in. I cannot imagine the horrors they face without a home to call their own. My home is nothing fancy,in fact it's kinda run-down already. The toilets don't flush properly, the parquet is scratched and peeling , the doors get stuck. But this is my home; it spells rest to me; it's the secret place where i can put up my feet, let down my hair where in my little room, i can hide, shut off the world and be with my God.
Years ago, my husband and I hunted around for several months before we purchased this house, becoz we wanted to make sure it would be a perfect home. Yet as comfortable as my home on earth is, I am restless, knowing there is an even better one by far already prepared for me by the Great Architect of the universe. In fact sometimes I get pretty home-sick for that other home of mine, especially considering the state of the world I live in. Sometimes problems seem so overwhelming I sigh to be taken into that eternal resting place in the bosom of my Abba Father in heaven. I am sure it's a fantastic place, it has to be, since He tells me the roads are paved with gold, and there is no more death, no tears, no sorrow, no pain. I am told my house is now worth close to a million bucks becoz of its good location . But that's nothing compared to the home I am going to possess, whose location is top-notch; who can beat staying in the same neighborhood with God Himself?!
At times like these, I am so so thankful for SomeOne who came to help get back this home for me. His name isn't Bilbo the Hobbit, His name is Jesus Christ, the Messiah. But like Bilbo the Hobbit went to such great lengths to help his frens return to the home that they lost to their enemy, Jesus Christ went all the way, even to death on the cross to secure this home for me. Just as the dwarves - with good reason, I might add - doubted that a blundering hobbit who can't even wield a sword could help them in their quest to regain their lost homeland, so too man still doubt Jesus who chose to die that all may live well in their homes on earth and in heaven.
We had to take out a huge bank loan to purchase our earthly home, which but for my husband's demise, would have meant practically a life-time of debt tied round our necks. Yet there is no bank that could help me pay the price for my heavenly home, since it was already mortgaged to the enemy of my soul, who demands payment in blood. But I didn't have to; Jesus paid for me - with His own blood. What I lost thru my sin, Jesus redeemed by His life given in exchange for mine. This fact alone makes that home priceless. Surely this is the greatest news for all who long for rest from the weariness and dreariness of this world - that eventually those who believe by faith are headed for this home of all homes, when the God who loves us says it's time to go... home sweet home.
The key to home is in the hand of the One who purchased it. And we can only possess it if we would first step out into the adventure of believing and trusting the God who says "Behold, I stand at the door and knock.If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me" (Rev. 3:20). In the words of the dwarf-king Thorin, all He asks is "loyalty, honor, and a willing heart." Sad to say, some are not willing to share this adventure of a life-time and prefer to 'play-house' on this earth, forgoing the richest inheritance reserved for those who dare take the risk of simply believing .
"In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am" John 14:2-3
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