Hobbits appear unlikely heroes, but God uses improbable people at times to fulfill a role that He specially designed for them. As is said of David in the Bible, “the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7, NRSV). This fits Bilbo and Frodo, who are also “chosen and selected,” as Gandalf says of the elder Baggins (The Hobbit, 21). There is so much that they, Sam, Merry, and Pippin can teach us. I wish to explore in this essay some of the reasons why they are worthy of emulation.

At the end of Bilbo’s chase after Gollum, the Ring-finder fights within himself one of the most important battles ever waged in Middle-earth. He finds that his would-be murder has unintentionally brought him to the exit, or at least as far as the miserable being is willing to go without risking capture by the goblins. He then stops there, blocking Bilbo’s way. Gollum detects by hearing and smell that the thief of his precious is near. In Bilbo’s desperation to escape with his life, he faces the temptation that to do so, he must slay his adversary. Certainly this could be easily justified as self-defense. The world would know nothing of it. It would take a while for even the goblins to notice that their kind were no longer disappearing with the creature no longer around to eat them.

Luckily for Gollum and all Middle-earth, Bilbo still has the presence of mind to heed the presence of God. The impulse to kill Gollum disappears as fast as it comes. There is absolutely no reason to pity such a terrible thing, yet such springs up in the Ring-finder’s heart and restrains his hand. Though not speaking specifically of the hobbit, Mathews notes, “Time and time again the spiritual decisions of the most consequence are faced by individuals alone” (Lightning, 32). Bilbo intuitively understands what it means to love an enemy, as he feels for an instant the agony of one so long trapped in darkness with no way out of it. This realization turns Gollum from a feared enemy into a fellow human being with a tormented heart and soul.

What also helps Bilbo to decide is the fact that although he knows Gollum wishes to kill him, the evil creature has not actually tried to do so. Bilbo bases his response, as Frodo does later, on what has happened, rather than give into fears of what might happen or even is likely to but has not occurred yet. The elder Baggins has once more laid some important groundwork for the destruction of the Ring and the salvation of his future cousin and heir. No foreknowledge of this moves his heart, however. Rather, he responds even more admirably, for he shows “mercy for mercy’s sake alone” (Ware, God in “Hobbit,” 53; italics in original). The later Quest to destroy the Ring could not have succeeded without others giving this same seemingly imprudent pity. We need to be watchful for such moments in our own life and give mercy if possible. Just as Bilbo has no idea what impact his actions and choices will have on his world, neither do we. As such, we must move cautiously.

Bilbo reveals his inherent decency once more after he decides that he must re-enter the tunnels and search for his missing companions. He has absolutely no desire to go back in, even with a magic Ring, but he conquers his fear and makes the decision to do so. Katharyn Crabbe notes in a parallel between Bilbo and Christ the great love that is ready to lay itself down to save its friends (J. R. R. Tolkien, 41-42). Bilbo receives his reward just for making this brave choice, rather than actually having to follow through after he hears voices and reunites with Gandalf and the dwarves. He also corresponds with the grace to surrender the Arkenstone to Bard and the Elven-king, which foreshadows his giving up of the Ring decades later.

Just as Bilbo was “chosen and selected” for his tasks, so are we and so were Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin. The time at Crickhollow proves Aristotle’s words that friendship is “most indispensable for life.” The revelation of the conspiracy formed to ensure that Frodo did not leave on his own stuns the Ring-bearer. Merry tells his cousin of the fear that he, Pippin, and Sam have of what is ahead but also of their determination to follow and face the peril of the Ring with Frodo because of their bond with him. If Sauron had heard these words and understood the power wrapped up in them, “Barad-dûr would have been shaken to its foundations” (Wood, Gospel, 127).

Sauron would also find incomprehensible the innocent excitement of his mighty enemies, as the young hobbits dance around Frodo in celebration that their company is indeed welcome. Their fear has not left them, but the joy of being with the one they love overwhelms it. Implacable malice such as Sauron’s cannot understand such happiness; unwavering hate cannot fathom unconditional, sacrificial love; selfishness cannot penetrate the wisdom of selflessness. Love allows us to do amazing, even otherwise impossible, things, and these hobbits excel at love. “You are worth what your heart is worth,” Blessed Pope John Paul II said. This makes Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin priceless. As the Quest unfolds, the hobbits prove that “a friend is a friend at all times, it is for adversity that a brother is born” (Prov. 17:17).

Frodo’s humble acceptance, first at Bag End and then at the Council of Elrond, to become a vessel through which a higher Power could work shows him the particular reason he was created. He does not know who this Power is, but he belongs to a people who though, as St. Paul says, do not have the law, still keep it as if by instinct, having it written in their hearts (Rom. 2:14-15). As happens to us if we are open to it, Frodo’s mind may not have understood why he responds the way he does, but his heart and soul do. Love and grace speak there in a language that the mind does not always comprehend, but the heart and soul do. Frodo becomes the suffering servant, a sacrificial lamb. It takes great courage to offer himself up to continue as Ring-bearer, to endure and fight against the rape of his mind and soul, and to suffer these demonic assaults for months in order to fulfill his vocation and carry his cross to Mount Doom. He receives extra grace throughout his life to strengthen and prepare him and the greatest grace in having Sam at his side. He also shows mercy, compassion, and true caring for Sméagol. He knows what this wretched creature suffers because violation from and addiction to the Ring torments him also. He is every bit a hero, and as the story unfolds, there is no doubt that he will succeed in his Quest.

Is it a surprise then that evil crushes Frodo at the end? Was he not the hero? Heroes do not fail. There is, however, more than one of these in this tale. The ever-faithful Sam is an even greater one. He would never have considered this true himself, but everyone else, especially Frodo, recognizes this. The Ring-bearer is still one himself, even though he is overcome at last by his burden, which was heavier than anyone should have had to bear. He endured its crushing weight for months with little complaint out of love for the people of Middle-earth. If he could save them, he would do anything to do so. But in the end – or what appears as the end – he cannot save them or himself. Salvation comes from an unexpected, unlooked-for source. Had it not been for Gollum, the Shadow could have covered all the land.

Part of the power of Tolkien’s sub-creation lies in Frodo’s seeming failure. The tale of the War of the Ring resounds in the hearts and souls of generations of readers because of how true it is, rather than pat, happily-ever-after, the-hero-never-shows-any-weakness fairy tales. In reality, even heroes have moments of frailty, doubt, and fear. Frodo and Sam and many others have these, but they also do what they need to do, despite what they feel. Sam struggles with how to proceed after his master’s apparent death, but he goes on because he knows the Quest is too important to fail. Terror fills him in the Tower of Cirith Ungol, but love compels him to continue. The Ring twists Frodo inside out, but he actively fights against it. He continues in his intention to save everyone even after he comes to understand that this will come at the cost of himself. He is spent bit by bit on his journey, poured out like a living sacrifice. His body seems too small for what he has to endure but not his heart. He gives and gives, even as the Ring tears his heart to shreds and weakens his body in its quest to dominate him. Still he holds onto these shreds, as he pushes past his doubts, terror, and despair. He continues on despite starvation and dehydration, not only from his own will but because of Sam’s. He knows even before he sets out that he will not be able to give up the Ring, but he remains completely set on its destruction, even if it means dying with it. He struggles to the point where he must crawl after his suffering and the weight of his burden is too much for him to do anything else.

We must do the same. Frodo’s journey is our own. Like the vast majority of us, he does not fight in combat as do the soldiers of Rohan and Gondor. Like each one of us, his battlefield is in his own mind, heart, and soul. The spiritual warfare that he continually engages in is the same that we must fight on a battleground that we cannot leave until death takes us from it. This knowledge is not meant to discourage us or cause us to despair but to give us patience and strength to endure the battles and win the war. Each one of us is a Ring-bearer of one kind or another in our struggle with fears, troubles, and addictions. We do hateful, hurtful things to those we should love the most. We sometimes give into the seductive call of temptation or anger. We desire things that we know are bad for us and will hurt us or others. Perhaps we try to pull away from them but still want them and cannot part from them without the strength of will to humbly ask for God’s assistance. Tolkien, the master storyteller, received and used inspiration from the Writer of the Story Himself to have his tales resound with such truth.

As we watch Frodo’s struggle, we see that some times we overcome our temptations, and at other times they overcome us. But like him, each time we can get back up after we fall and start the struggle anew. We can walk away from the alcohol, drugs, slot machines, pornography, toxic relationships, or whatever poisons us. We can say no to hate and anger and the hurt and violence it causes. We can choose another path. We may fail many times, but we will succeed in the end if we are open to receive and respond to the grace made available to us.

If we are fortunate, we will have a Sam with us to support us, for this struggle is not one we can win alone. It must be won if we are not to be totally lost. We learn as much or even more from Sam the stouthearted, Sam the loving, as we do from Frodo. This humble gardener is a bright light that shines in the Ring-bearer’s darkening world and in our own. They both give us examples of perseverance, loyalty, and dedication to completing difficult tasks that seem impossible to even survive.

Perhaps our part in the Music is to be a Sam for someone: to love as fiercely and unconditionally as he does; to stand by our Frodo through every hardship; to be their light, strength, and hope; even to be willing to die for them or with them. Imagine what the world would be like if everyone would love and be loved as deeply and purely as Sam loved his Frodo and his Rosie. It would be beautiful. Or perhaps we shall be saved through totally unexpected means or persons due to mercies we give and then receive back.

The glowing example of Sam and Rosie’s love, faithfulness, and devotion is another lesson we sorely need to learn in our era of broken promises and betrayal of friends and spouses. These two hobbits are open to the gift of life, and, surrounded by their many children, they celebrate their golden anniversary and beyond. They show where there is great and true love, many miracles happen.

Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin all discover they are braver than they ever thought they could be, as they do what they need to do out of love. They learn as we have that evil is alive and well in the world but that such powers “cannot conquer for ever!” (LotR VI:7, 687), as Frodo boldly proclaims at the Cross-roads. These tales show that “evil labours with vast power and perpetual success - in vain: preparing always only the soil for unexpected good to sprout in” (Tolkien, Letters, 76). Out of the darkness and because of the darkness, many heroic acts of love, faith, humility, and self-sacrifice abound.

May the light of these heroes, whose stories Tolkien retold “in this very nick of time,” (LotR II:2, 236) be a beacon for us to draw strength and inspiration from, as we make our own journeys to Mordor or confront the Shadow in other ways and places.

Crabbe, Katharyn. J. R. R. Tolkien. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1981.

The Jerusalem Bible Reader’s Edition. Gen. ed. Alexander Jones. Garden City, NY: Doubleday,

            1966, 1967, 1968.

Mathews, Richard. Lightning from a Clear Sky. San Bernardino, CA: Borgo Press, 1978.

New Revised Standard Version Bible. Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. New York: HarperCollins, 2007.

Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007.

———. The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien. Ed. Humphrey Carpenter. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000.

———. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King. 2^nd edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1965-66.

Ware, Jim. Finding God in “The Hobbit.” [Colorado Springs, CO?]: SaltRiver, 2006.

Wood, Ralph C. The Gospel According to Tolkien: Visions of the Kingdom in Middle-earth. Louisville, KY: Knox, 2003.

This essay was the originally the first I ever wrote years ago now. It has been since significantly modified and taken in good part from my book, Moments of Grace and Spiritual Warfare in “The Lord of the Rings” (WestBow Press, 2012), which also includes a chapter on “The Hobbit.” For more details and to order the book, please visit www.annemariegazzolo.com. Feel free to like me at www.facebook.com/annemariegazzolo and follow me at www.pinterest.com/authorannemarie.