I have three older sisters, and I did not always believe that they were wise, but somewhere along the way, I grew up (and so did they), and I am so very thankful to be their baby brother. The one with whom I sparred the most growing up has become the one with whom I interact the most often in our adult years. I don’t love her more than I love my other sisters–I love them equally much! Yet, our interactions are almost daily, via social media.
She posts many quotes from authors and literary characters that are sometimes witty but more often poignant or providentially timely. It was she who prompted me to show an interest in the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, including the Hobbit, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the Silmarillion. What powerful stories he wove! When the movies for LOTR came out, I enjoyed them to an extent, but so much of the full tale was lost or altered that I was driven to the books again to restore my fulfillment of the original stories.
My sister’s interest in Tolkien and his characters frequently appears in her posted quotes, as the battles of good vs. evil in his stories so often reflect the real world in which Tolkien lived, and which in turn, we live. Fighting evil seems so overwhelming at times that we often feel ill-prepared nor up to the task. Yet we must not despair of doing right.
In Galatians 6:9, the Apostle Paul reminds the Christians at Galatia of the solemn duty God gives his people: “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” How do we fight the evil in the world? How does this work itself out in daily life? I think of this verse when my sister posts the following meme on social media:
Mack Ames Books and Maine Moose Patrol 