The Riddle of the Strider
Riding my bike around Bend to run errands, visit, and just doing life, I see so much more than when in my truck. I enjoy looking at and into the cars that pass and wondering about the driver. Where are they off to? What is their life like? How are they feeling as they sit in traffic?
The other day I noticed on three different cars the same bumper-sticker that looked like the one above. You’ve seen it around, maybe you even have one of your own. And it got me to wondering where it came from.
So, I looked it up and discovered I had forgotten this was from Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. In a letter from Gandalf, the wizard, to Bilbo Baggins, this was part of a riddle the latter would use to identify the true leader of Isildur.
When meeting Aragorn, Bilbo hears him recite this poem, the Riddle of the Strider.
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.
While Tolkien use this to introduce and validate Aragorn, the first two lines give us a bit to chew on.
All that is gold does not glitter flips the old proverb on its head and makes a reader stop to make sense of it. When I read that I think about how many times I have missed the extraordinary when it’s dressed down. Even consider Jesus: Isaiah predicts he would not be anything physically imposing but still one who would change the world.
I wonder who, among friends both close and casual, have I judged prematurely and overlooked as we move along? That’s easy to do, especially when it’s someone far from my world and worldview, like the foreigner or the homeless, the widow or the outsider.
A friend who also volunteers with the Shepherd’s House Share Van that goes out to the camps around here, has taken to calling the homeless he serves as his “teachers.” He not only works to recognizes the imago dei in each one, but also as those who have gold to share, even though smudged by dirt.
Paul, in 2 Corinthians 5, gets at this truth among those who have begun to follow Jesus.
…Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
Paul is looking and finding the gold buried in each life, and so should we. How different might my life look with the attitude of searching for the treasure each one carries, and then holding a mirror up to that one for them to see their value and encourage them in their journey. And think about how much you have learned along the way from the most humble people.
The next line in the riddle that has become bumper-sticker-worthy also can teach. Not all those who wander are lost might sound like justification for a pointless, goalless, vagrant lifestyle, but that wasn’t Tolkien’s point. Aragorn, through his unconventional life, had been strengthening his character and growing in wisdom toward fulfilling his destiny that would show itself many years later.
Truth is that some who wander do little with their gifts and abilities, don’t seek to serve and be of use, are indeed lost, drifting, just waiting for whatever comes. But not all, and it’s not my business to determine who is who.
The point for me lies in not concluding a play is over in the first or second act of another person’s life…or even of my own. One of the great hinge-points of theology and life is the mystery of the wisdom of God weaving every part of life to create all he desires into the life-fabric of his children. It’s almost like a grand drama of redemption playing out in each believer, with the Author alone holding the last page.
That’s why, in the midst of the most challenging of lives, Jesus-followers in every generation live hopeful, expectant lives to the end. We wander but are never lost. We believe what Paul wrote to the Philippians, who faced their own questions.
For I am confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Without a map we journey. Like Aragorn, beneath any rough or unfinished exterior, lies potential nobility and strength. His by heritage and hard-won lessons, ours through our identity in Jesus and his finished work on the cross. And the same God who brought us to life has promised to continue to perfect it all the way home.
For me, that breeds encouragement. For my view of others, it helps me grow in patience and walking alongside. There is truth to be found in great literature like the Riddle of the Strider. One day, like Aragorn, we will meet our destiny, in Jesus and his kingdom.
Never quit the pursuit of your future.
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Funnies, shuuure
Ricky was deployed with his Marine unit for months in the Sandbox. He had a girl back home he loved deeply, thought of often, and her picture was always in his pocket.
One fateful day, Ricky got a letter from the girl that read,
“Dear Ricky, I’m sorry to tell you this but I don’t love you any more. In fact, I’ve been cheating on you here at home. The distance is too great, and it’s not fair to either of us to continue. Please send me back my picture. I’m sorry, Rosalee.”
Ricky was stunned and furious and fumed for a while. The next afternoon Ricky talked to all of his hooch-mates and asked them for any extra pictures of their girls, sisters, cousins, or friends for him to borrow.
In addition to his now ex-girlfriend’s picture, Ricky packed up the stack of 57 photos and sent them home to her. His brief note to her read,
“Dear Rosalee, I’m sorry but I can’t remember who you are. Please take your picture from the pile and send the rest back to me.”
**********************
A pirate captain procured a map that claimed to lead to buried treasure.
After months of hard sailing, his crew caught site of an island, right where the treasure map showed it to be. The captain and his first mate disembarked to search out the treasure, which was supposed to lie deep within a swamp at the center of the island.
Sure enough, at the center of the island they found a swamp. The captain and his first mate bravely entered the swamp, even though their feet sank into the muck. As they proceeded, the swamp got deeper; oozy mud rose above their ankles; soon they were knee-deep.
Suddenly, the captain banged his shin against something hard. He reached down, groping through the slime, and pulled up a treasure chest. Eagerly they pried the lock, and discovered gold and jewels beyond imagination!
The captain turned to his first mate and said, "Arrrr, matey, that just goes to show ye! Booty is only shin deep!"