"'I am old, Gandalf. I don't look it, but I am beginning to feel it in my heart of hearts. Well-preserved indeed!' he snorted. 'Why, I feel all thin, sort of stretched, if you know what I mean: like butter that has been scraped over too much bread. That can't be right. I need a change, or something.'" (Bilbo Baggins, The Lord of the Rings)

Bilbo Baggins: When Evil Looks like Gold

The story of "The Lord of the Rings" actually begins with Tolkien's story, "The Hobbit". It is a quaint tale about a mild mannered little hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, who is thrown into various situations and adventures. It was during one of these adventures that he found, and kept, a golden ring. Since he knew who the owner was, or at least who had possession of it prior to himself, we might say he stole it. But the one who had it before him had also stolen it. To be courteous to Bilbo we must hasten to add that if he hadn't kept the ring Gollum surely would have killed him. Still the evil of the ring awakened its master and soon all Middle Eart was under the curse of death by the Dark Lord.

Isn't that how sin works. A lot of times it looks harmless, even profitable, but we end up finding out that evil is evil, no matter what it looks like. There is no such thing as a small sin. Look at Adam and Eve. They were told not to eat of a certain tree. That was the only thing they were told not to do. Yet, Satan deceived the woman who tempted the man and they both did that one thing they should never have done. In doing so they brought a curse upon our world. Just as Bilbo couldn't undo the evil that had sprung up upon his world, neither could Adam undo the evil that had sprung up upon ours.

The task of unmaking the Ring of Power was passed on to Frodo. This reminds me of the fact the although Adam brought sin into the world, and that we all live under that curse, Jesus took all of that sin and nailed it to a wooden cross when He died for us. He unmade sin for mankind, if we are willing to accept the mercy of God and His grace. The terrible truth is that many will not receive this blessed gift, this way out from under the curse of sin, even though Jesus already paid their price. How terrible it will be for them in that day of Judgment. We should therefore be diligent to lift up the name of Jesus so that He might draw more in our world into His kingdom.