I believe God’s Word, the Bible.

And believing it, I know that Good will triumph over evil because God is good and He, the Creator and Redeemer has told us how it will all end, with His Kingdom triumphant and His people as kings and priests.

He has also made it clear that the route to that end will not be an easy one and will very well see much evil and disappointment along the way. A classic example of this is the well-known story of Joseph and his sale as a slave to Egypt by his own brothers. 

But what did the same Joseph say to his anxious brothers, who feared revenge from Joseph after the death of Jacob, their father? “Fear not … ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good…. Genesis 50:19-20).”

Some 16 centuries later, Peter spoke in similar fashion when he told the men of Israel at Pentecost, that Jesus was “delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God” and in the same breath goes on to say, “ye have taken, and by wicked hand have crucified and slain…. (Acts 2:23).” 

The sale of Joseph was an evil act; infinitely more so was the betrayal and crucifixion and murder of the Son of God.

Nevertheless, in both cases, as in all cases, God is on the throne, ensuring that such actions will abound to the triumph of His good will and to the good of His own people. 

Our duty is to persevere in the good fight. To the end. We may not see the victory. But we know that it will come and that we will have had a part in it.

So as we read about mayhem in Minnesota, including a church invaded and children terrorized:

“Agitators blocked stairs so parents were unable to get to their children at Sunday School. One screamed at a kid, ‘Do you know your parents are Nazis, they’re going to burn in Hell?’ Other agitators continued to scream and get into women and children’s faces while they were crying…. Other testimonies told of agitators following them and surrounding them in their car and would not allow them to leave … and that their children are traumatized…. One woman’s arm was broken….” Etc.

As we read about events around our country and in other parts of the world, it is easy to get discouraged and become “defeatist”.

That would be the wrong response. 

While we are not called to be Pollyanna, we certainly are called to be faithful and to be confident in our eventual victory in Christ, even if our current circumstances are not rosy.

My children convinced me — well, “convinced” is not the right word, as I did not need much convincing — to watch the current release of The Lord of The Rings Trilogy, now in theaters, some 25 years after their worldwide premiers at the turn of this century.

At the end of The Two Towers, as Sam and Frodo, with Gollum in tow, are about to leave Osgiliath, Frodo, who shortly before barely escapes death, says, “I can’t do this, Sam.”

This all-too-familiar and all-too-real lament, is the catalyst for Sam’s monologue, which he delivers while, intermittently, the film shows scenes of their friends engaging in fierce battles taking place in far away lands but all having roles to play in the little Hobbit’s quest:

“I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.”

Frodo then asks, “What are we holding onto, Sam?”

To which Sam replies, “That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo … and it’s worth fighting for.”

Although my children have heard me criticize the director, Peter Jackson, more than once for presenting a much weaker Frodo in the movies than the Frodo J.R.R. Tolkien created in his books, I also happily compliment Mr. Jackson for having included in his movie this decently condensed version of the speech written by Tolkien in his book.

The three books and the three movies have a good number of memorable lines and speeches; however, in my view, Sam’s Monologue is the highlight.

Samwise Gamgee as portrayed by Sean Astin