While Rachael and I took some time off, over the past two weeks, I picked up Lord of the Rings to read again – I love the movies, but hadn’t read the book since I was a teenager.
Near the beginning of The Two Towers, Pippin wonders why on earth Gandalf and Elrond let him be part of the Fellowship of the Ring. After all, the fellowship was made up of a brilliant wizard, two men who were strong and mighty warriors, an elf with bow and arrow skills to rival Robin Hood and an axe-wielding Dwarf! Pippin was a hobbit with no obvious skills or talents (apart from maybe eating).
“I wish Gandalf had never persuaded Elrond to let us come” he thought. “What good have I been? Just a nuisance: a passenger, a piece of luggage”.
I think quite a lot of Christians sometimes feel a bit like Pippin. I know I have. When I was at University, I was a leader in the Christian Union, but had really struggled to get involved in my Church. I was there every week and even attended some of the early morning prayer meetings, but no one ever asked me to serve or get involved in any way. The pastor of the Church was an excellent preacher and a godly man, but never seemed very interested in the University students in the Church. One week we invited him to talk at the University Christian Union and I was leading the meeting. In front of everyone else in the CU Committee he asked me what church I went to. I had to awkwardly say his, we both felt very embarrassed and I felt like I was a passenger in my Church, a piece of luggage along for the ride, with nothing much to offer – the pastor didn’t even recognise me. It wasn’t a nice feeling.
As I was reading about Pippin, three things struck me.
Firstly, we don’t have any nuisances, passengers or pieces of luggage in Christ Church Fareham. I look round the Church so grateful for the wonderful friends in the Church. New people who haven’t even completed the membership course are getting involved in all sorts of ways – joining rotas, sharing during meetings, inviting friends, family and neighbours and staying for tea and coffee and chatting away enthusiastically. It’s amazing!
Secondly, even if someone were just a passenger, consider how God speaks in 1 Corinthians 12:21-24
The eye cannot say to the hand “I have no need of you”, nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you”. On the contrary the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honourable we bestow the greater honour, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which are presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honour to the part that lacked it”.
The weaker parts of the Church are indispensable and receive greater honour! Imagine someone in the Church who once appeared strong, actively involved in all areas of Church life, showing great gifts of the Holy Spirit week-in and week-out, is suddenly affected by an illness. They no longer have the strength to serve, maybe all they can do is get to Church on a Sunday and sit and listen. Or maybe they are bed-ridden and can’t even be part of our Sunday gatherings. Are they suddenly less important to the Church? No!! They are indispensable, they receive greater honour. For a season or perhaps for the rest of their life, they may be, humanly- speaking, a passenger. And yet in the great wisdom of God, they are actually a crucial, fundamental and glorious part of the body, which is the Church. For in their suffering, they provoke the rest of the body to suffer with them and serve them as best they can. Do you see? In God’s eyes, they aren’t a nuisance at all! They are a critical part of the body.
One of the beautiful things about Lord of the Rings is that it isn’t the mighty warriors who ultimately prove to be the downfall of Sauron. It’s the small, weak hobbits. Sauron overlooks them because they are small and weak. But God doesn’t overlook us or think we shouldn’t be part of the fellowship because we are small and weak. In fact, he bestows on the weak greater honour.
Thirdly and finally, consider this. Pippin, who considers himself a nuisance, is about to spark a whole forest to go to war against Saruman (if you haven’t read the book or watched the movie, that’s probably a confusing sentence, but nevermind!). The hobbit who considers himself a passenger is about to be a key player in something really extraordinary. Gandalf and Elrond didn’t make a mistake when they chose Pippin. They knew, in his weakness and foolishness, he would prove to be a valuable member of the fellowship. God didn’t make a mistake when He chose you to be part of the fellowship of Christ. God never makes mistakes and He has created you and is now at work within you. He will do amazing things through you (perhaps remarkable and noteworthy deeds of greatness, but more likely everyday faithfulness in the ordinariness of life is altogether more amazing).
God chooses to use the weak to do amazing things. If you feel like a passenger in the Church, I pray you would know the love of God who values you so much, who bestows you with great honour, because of His grace and mercy. But I also pray you might believe God could use you, even you, in an extraordinary way. I hope this blog post would prove a provocation to you to pray.
Heavenly Father, I am small and weak. At times, I feel more like a nuisance than a valuable member of the Church, a passenger, a piece of luggage. But I read in Your Word that the weak are indispensable in the Church and I believe that You use the weak things of this world, even to shame the mighty. I thank you for that encouragement and I pray that you would equip me with fresh boldness and confidence to use my gifts for Your glory and to love the Church. Amen.
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