Ed, my neighbor next door, admitted that it was a twist of fate that sat us beside each other at the movie theatre. Both of us had grandchildren staying for the holidays. Our grandchildren wanted to see, 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.' What I knew about the Hobbit would have left a thimble empty.
Ed expected me to have read the 1937 novel, 'The Hobbit,' by J. R. R. Tolkien. He doesn't read books, but because I do, he seemed to think that, I should have read it. I think, 'The Hobbit,' must be a long and involved book. It is taking three movies to adapt the book to film. I don't read lengthy and complicated fantasy books.
Our grandkids had seen the first movie of 'The Hobbit.' They both understood about what was going on in the beginning of, 'The Desolation of Smaug.' I liked the 3-D presentation of the movie but, Ed took offense to decapitated heads of Orcs that went sailing by him. Our grandkids understood about the group of dwarfs, the wizard Gandalf, Wood Elves, Bilbo the Hobbit, and Smaug the sleeping dragon.
Apparently, another movie will conclude the Hobbit book. Neither Ed nor I will be as excited as our grandkids to see it. Ed asked that since I have seen the movie will I now read the book. I had to confess that I'm not interested. I realize that is what many think when it comes to reading the Bible. It seems to them that the Bible is to too long and too complicated with endless different characters. The Bible can seem intimidating with its two parts divided into so many books. The Old Testament has thirty-nine books, and the New Testament twenty-seven, but the sixty-six books do have one focus, Jesus Christ. The Old Testament points to the coming of Christ. The New Testament tells of Christ's coming and His blessing for now and forever.
The Bible was written that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior, from God, and that by believing we might have life in His name. The Bible's message is a true message that we may well not want to hear. We do need a God given Savior, who saves us from ourselves. We do not like to admit sin rubs ourselves and our world raw.
Marion Soards wrote that Jesus Christ is not a fabrication: "He is not faster than a speeding bullet - a hand-held spear pierced his side. He is not more powerful than a locomotive - he dropped under the weight of the cross. He is not able to leap tall buildings in a single bound - he didn't even come down off the cross where, nailed up, he bled and died." Jesus laid down the privilege, position, and power of heaven to become a willing servant of God. He was willing to sacrifice himself so that love could overcome evil for all.
