J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is among the finest work of fantasy literature. Its contribution and achievement to the world of literature is remarkable to say the least. Tolkien’s storytelling and prose is simply beyond this world, a brilliant and masterful work of art. His entire creation of Middle-earth, I think, rings true to the words of Francis Schaeffer who said, “The Christian is the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars.” And that is what Tolkien, an Oxford professor and devout Roman Catholic, has accomplished with Middle-earth, because not only did his imagination reach the stars, he took ours with him. He has taken us to Middle-earth to not just reside there forever, but to better understand the world in which we live and become greater citizens of it.

Tolkien scholars have argued that J. R. R. Tolkien was not at all fond of writing analogous characters, such as having Gandalf or Frodo or Aragorn be portrayed specifically as the person of Christ. They are not, nor were they ever meant to be, a Christ model. These characters are, rather, only Christ-like in demeanor. Though avoiding a Christ character was Tolkien’s desire, he nevertheless, could not escape inserting his own with the kind of characteristics or storyline that replicated the single person he believed all of history was centered upon. Bilbo Baggins’ famous poem of Aragorn called “The Riddle of Strider,” I believe, is a prime example of this.

“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.”

The poem, like a prophesy, pointed to Strider. It was given from Gandalf to Frodo on his quest to find him. It was to help Frodo identify if the Strider he meets on the road is the real one. When Frodo finally encountered a stranger by the same name, he was reassured he’d met the true Strider when Aragorn recited to him a portion of the poem. Aragorn was the Strider, the upcoming king Middle-earth had been awaiting. However, if the riddle speaks of Aragorn, an imaginative Christ-like character, how much more in the real world would Strider’s riddle hint at the actual Christ figure? Here is how the riddle of Strider, in my opinion, sings the song of Christ.

If the riddle speaks of Aragorn, an imaginative Christ-like character, how much more in the real world would Strider’s riddle hint at the actual Christ figure?

All that is gold does not glitter: In the fantasy world and in reality alike, not everything worth one’s investment will appear attractive. The Jews had envisioned a messiah who would appear as a military elite, one who would make war with their Roman enemies and liberate them from Caesar’s tyrannical reign. But the prophet Isaiah speaks of the Messiah as having “no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2). So when Jesus entered the scene and began preaching the arrival of the kingdom of God (which was to say that God’s deliverance has come through him), his own people responded in rejection (John 1:11). And because Jesus had defied their expectations, some dismissed him for a drunkard, others as demon-possessed. “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (v. 12). He was the genuine gold that did not glitter.

Not all those who wander are lost: Jesus may have wandered throughout Israel, but he was neither clueless nor lost. He didn’t roam around aimlessly seeking for something to do so as to “kill time.” Rather, Jesus was always on a mission to do the will of his Father (John 6:38), proclaiming good news to the poor and freedom to the captives, recovering the sight of the blind, and setting free the oppressed (Luke 4:18).

The old that is strong does not wither: In the course of his earthly ministry, Jesus not only performed miraculous signs, his ministry was deeply and firmly rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures, which pointed to him as the promised Jewish Messiah (Luke 4:21). Jesus, being the incarnation of the Ancient of Days, spoke with immense authority. At his word, trees withered (Matt. 21:18-21), storms dissipated (Mark 4:39), diseases were cured (Matt 8:3), demons fled (Mark 5:7-13), and humans shuddered (Mark 4:41).

Deep roots are not reached by the frost: There were no questions or objections in which Jesus was unable to either answer or refute. His ability to address scorn and settle a dispute largely had to do with the fact that he was profoundly knowledgeable of scripture and had a deep awareness of his own identity as Israel’s God and their Messiah. Satan’s temptations could not deceive him (Matthew 4), nor could the accusations the Jews directed at him hinder his drive to fulfill God’s mission to redeem his people.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken: Jesus died a criminal’s death. He suffered the judgement of God the Father on behalf of sinners, and was treated like the chaff sinners are. “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (Isaiah 53:3). The religious elites thought that by eliminating Jesus from the scene, his reputation would eventually cease, not knowing that his death was the pivotal launch of something even greater, a wildfire that cannot be quenched.

A light from the shadow shall spring: The darkest hour of human history has brought about the greatest light of hope for humanity. When everything seemed hopeless and bleak, the resurrection of Christ, a physical sign that God has defeated Darkness, that Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33). is the spark needed for every Christian to go on living triumphantly. It is inside the empty tomb where God settles the case of his love for humanity, where we can rest assured with the Apostle Paul that “in all things we are more than conquerors through [Christ] who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life; nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39).

Renewed shall be blade that was broken: God the Son was the weapon by which God the Father used to fight the powers of darkness. The Son was the promised seed who will do more than establish God’s kingdom on earth, he will put an end to death itself, though he himself will suffer its blow. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was more than God declaring victory over death, it was the launching of his mission to renew creation. So that whoever is in Christ will be a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Sin will be undone, and what was broken will be restored anew. And all those who are in Christ will one day be like him in body (1 John 3:2) and in character (Romans 8:29).

The crownless again shall be king: The Apostle Paul, writing about Jesus, said, “Though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on hm the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phillipians 2:6-11). Though Jesus’ present reign on earth is in the heavenly realm, he will one day return to physically rule as the world’s truest and final King in the New Heaven and the New Earth.

Li Zi was born and raised in North Central Wisconsin. He is an emerging entrepreneur and aspiring educator. His interest is in the theological study of philosophy, politics, and economics, as well as the integration of faith and work.