No matter how independent and self-reliant we seek to be, it is good for us to be led by a benevolent King! In J. R. R. Tolkien’s concluding episode “Return of the King,” Middle Earth’s rightful king, Aragorn, leads the humans in one last, all-out attempt to turn back the forces of evil. After many costly battles, there’s a glorious coronation day for the triumphant king. As the crown is placed on the head of the rightful ruler before this jubilant crowd of his subjects, they know the dark days are over. And the one who crowned him makes this hope-filled announcement – “Now begin the days of the King!”

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Back in February I attended a mission and saw thrilling signal fires lit on mountaintops near Turin, Italy to commemorate the Waldensian liberation. It reminded me of a dramatic concluding scene in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy written by J. R. R. Tolkien, one of England’s literary greats from a generation ago. In those fantastic novels he communicated spiritual truths through allegorical myths in a fantasy world called Middle-Earth (very much like C.S. Lewis had done, who was helped to become a Christian by Tolkien), In the final episode, the armies of darkness advance and the humans rally to engage an awesome decisive battle. In one drama-packed moment, a massive pile of wood was ignited on a mountaintop with a torch to light the signal fire. Subsequent summons-by-fire spread across the kingdom, from mountaintop to mountaintop whilst the sentinels shout the stunning and triumphant news – “The beacons are lit!”

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Frankly, I don’t know how the parents of young children do it all, but it is great to be at church each week and see such constant love and care, devotion, protection and provision for those little ones. And it keeps on full strength 24/7 with no stopping.

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