2023 is the 69th anniversary of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of The Rings and the 20th anniversary of Peter Jackson’s movie, which bears the same name. Years have passed, and Tolkien had long since been gone, but The Lord of The Rings still remains one of the greatest books and films of all time. Many people believe it is a dull thick book, but "a great book is one that makes you think and feel, that expands your horizons, and challenges your assumptions." This is exactly the way I felt. I lead an interesting history with The Lord of the Rings. When I was seven, I first watched The Fellowship of the Ring for the first time at my friend Leo’s and, to tell the truth, thought little of it, after first criticizing it as an exciting but scary movie. Two parts of the movie that stuck with me: the ring wraiths chased Frodo and his companions through the Shire and their “terrifying” journey in Moria. After 2 or 3 years, we watched the whole movie with our dad at home. Still, I thought of it as a common movie. But during 2022, the big event happened. My mother bought (with 300 yuan) a dictionary-sized book entitled The Lord of The Rings. I started reading it just before the summer holidays and I fell in love with it. I immediately watched the 9 hour movie again with my brothers, made Caleb read it and started reading to Peter every night as well. We even developed games using this book. Since then, I have read the book 4 times, listened to the audio version thrice, watched the movie twice, and did research about the behind the scenes of the movie and about all the actors and actresses. We found the most amazing facts about the movie, such as the sons and grandson of Tolkien (the author) participated in the movie. We often listened to the music in the movies, and I read through all Tolkien’s Middle Earth books from the library, such as Beren and Luthien and The Silmarillion. As time passed, my understanding of its truths blended with the hardships and joys of my life, making me love it even more.
The Lord of the Rings (2): Perseverance and Friendship
Introduction
The Lord of the Rings, written by John Ronald Ruel Tolkien, proves to be one of the timeless fantasies of all time. Tolkien wrote the trilogy over the span of 18 years, finally publishing it in 1954. In the story, the Dark Lord Sauron returns to power from His previous downfall with only one thing needed to control all of Middle Earth—his Ring. The Ring contains the power of destruction and control and could make the wearer invisible and eternal, but was unfortunately (for Sauron, of course) lost during His crushing defeat, and was passed down by unexpected ways to a simple hobbit called Frodo Baggins. Frodo and his friends determine to destroy the Ring in the fires of Mount Doom and stop Sauron from gaining power. Through their perilous journey, the company gets separated and only Frodo and his friend Sam are left with the mission. Though everything seems impossible, Frodo and Sam still make their way, step by step, toward Mordor, aided by a treacherous creature called Gollum. When they finally reach the cracks of Mt. Doom and their mission is almost complete, Frodo gets controlled by his desire for the Ring and claims it for his own. Here, Gollum, who also long desired the Ring, fought with Frodo at the brink of the mountain. Eventually, Gollum won, but in his wild excitement, slipped, and fell into the fire below with the Ring. The moment the Ring dissolves in the fires, Sauron’s stronghold collapses, and the dark power breaks. Frodo and Sam, at the end of their strengths, were rescued by their friends from the mountain and taken to safety. Therefore, The Lord of The Rings demonstrates wisdom, perseverance, friendship, and the danger of desire.
Fighting Against Evil
First, The Lord of The Rings demonstrates truths of hope and perseverance against evil. As Frodo and the Fellowship journey south towards Mordor, the evil of Sauron stretches ever more quickly over Middle Earth. The land groans under bloodshed, violence, and war, and the task seems impossible to complete. Thousands of evil creatures and orcs block their path, Ringwraiths are seeking for them to gain the Ring, and Sauron’s massive troops await in Mordor for His command to pour out and kill. Within 2 months of the journey, 2 out of the 9 people setting out to Mordor with Frodo had been killed, Gandalf included (though he returns to life later in the story). The power of Ring starts seeping out, corrupting Boromir of their Fellowship and causing his death. Frodo, frightened and desperate, escapes from the Fellowship (for fear of other betrayals) and tries to make his way with Sam toward Mordor alone. Evil gains the upper hand. “I wish it (the evil) need not happen in my time,” Said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all w rho live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us” (52). This is one of my favorite passages in the whole book. People sometimes ask questions like “Why does it have to be me”, or “Why do I have to live in such a time and place”. But Gandalf has a good point: That is not for them to decide. That is for God to decide. But they still have a choice: to live towards good and do their best or to let matters take their course. Frodo and Gandalf certainly chose the first, because they did not shrink back or throw the whole thing away. Instead, they chose the desperate and impossible way—but also the right way. They chose to meet their fears, evil, and even their deaths for justice and good. Also, when Gimli, another member of their Fellowship despaired due to Gandalf’s death, Aragorn reminds him, “The counsel of Gandalf was founded on for knowledge of safety, for himself or others. There are some things that are better to begin than to refuse, even though the end may be dark.” Jesus says in Mark 8: 35, “For whoever wants to save their life lose it, but loses their life for me and the Gospel will save it.” Likewise, the Fellowship willingly sacrifices their lives for justice, and in return, gains victory in the end.
The Eternity of Hope
After the Fellowship sets out from Rivendell towards Mordor, they still hold hope even though resistance seems impossible. They did not despair at the darkest moments but used every ounce of their strength towards they knew not what end. For instance, when the hobbits Merry and Pippin are captured by orcs, their friends attempt to rescue them. However, the orcs have a good head start and the three companions have to peruse the orcs on foot. After 3 days of vain searching, Gimli the dwarf doubts if the hobbits are even alive. Legolas, however, encourages him, “Yet do not cast all hope away. Tomorrow is unknown. Rede oft is found at the rising of the sun” (439). Legolas reminds his companions that even in the darkest hour, hope is still present because the future is unknown. When they decide to pursue the orcs, they do it out of love and hope, not because they are confident of what will happen. As Gandalf says, despair is only for those who see the end clearly. Also, the wisdom and foolishness of Sauron give a chance for Frodo to accomplish his mission and adds hope to all hearts. The Dark Lord perceives that the company will journey to Minas Tirith and use the power of the Ring to crush him (the reason they did not do so we have already discussed in The Lord of The Rings: desire versus wisdom) because he would have done so in their place. Therefore, he determines to strike first, before the Ring could arrive, with all his force. Gandalf says, “Wise fool. For if he had used all his power to guard Mordor, so that none could enter, and bent all his guile in hunting the Ring, then indeed hope would have faded: neither Ring nor bearer could have long eluded him. But now his eye gazes abroad rather than near at home; and mostly he looks at Minas Tirith” (509). Sauron judges all hearts according to his malice and desire, therefore he reckons that no man could resist the temptation of the Ring and it cast away. As he bends his gaze towards Minas Tirith, there is a slight hope for Frodo and Sam (his servant) to slip into Mordor and destroy the Ring.
In the Bible, something similar had once occurred. When Satan entered Judas’s heart and made him sell Jesus to the Pharisees, he thought that the scheme of gaining victory against God was almost complete. He believes that Jesus was defeated by him at last. But it never entered his mind that through his “wisdom”, Jesus had performed the act of Salvation to all His children. Both Satan and Sauron judge everything according to evil, so they cannot look through the plans made by goodness. Because of their foolishness, Frodo saved Middle Earth and Jesus saved all His children. This gives hope to Frodo and his friends to work towards this chance of defeating evil.
In short, God made us as we are and we should use the resources around us to live towardsHim and stand up to evil. As we walk on God’s path and persevere against Satan, we sometimes despair and believe hope has left us. However, we must remember that the harder Satan seems to attack, the more we will learn to rely on God. While He believes is going to shake our faith, He is actually strengthening us for the better. At any rate, God gives hope to all those who persist in faith and trust in Him.
Sacrifice and Support
In addition, The Lord of The Rings demonstrates the strength of friendship. Without the help and love of his friends, Frodo would have never reached Mount Doom and accomplished his mission. For example, when the Fellowship of the Ring crosses through the Mines of Moria, they encounter an evil monster terrorizing the shadows of the mines-- the Balrog. Here, Gandalf decides to risk his life for the others to escape the Balrog. Telling the others to hurry towards the exit, he turns and battles the Balrog alone. Hope rises as Gandalf gains the upper hand. “With a terrible very the Balrog fell forward, and its shadow plunged down and vanished. But even as it fell it swung its whip, and the thongs lashed and curled about the wizard's knees, dragging him to the brink. He staggered and fell, grasped vainly at the stone, and slid into the abyss. ‘Fly, you fools!’ He cried, and was gone” (339). Because of Gandalf’s sacrifice, the company escapes out of the mines and into safety. Later, he rises from death again and turns into Gandalf the White. Also, Boromir of Gondor sacrifices his life for Merry and Pippin as orcs attempt to capture them. The traitor Saruman sends orcs to attack the company in hopes of gaining the Ring, and the gang of foul orcs crashes first into the two hobbits. No one but Boromir is with them, so he fights bravely to protect his companions, even though it is a hundred against one. “He was sitting with his back to a tree… But Aragorn saw that he was pierced with many black-feathered arrows; his sword was still in his hand, but it was broken near the hilt… Many orcs lay slain, piled all about him and at his feet” (423-424). Even though Boromir yields to the temptation of the Ring, he still repents and willingly dies for Merry and Pippin. His story tells us that no friend is perfect, but what matters is the bond of love and fellowship. No matter how dark times are, love and sacrifice always exist between true friends.
Loyalty Between the Fellowship
Perhaps, the credit of the most loyal person belongs to Sam Gamgee. All through their journey, Sam takes great pains to help his master (he was Frodo’s gardener at home) finish his task. Once, Frodo is at the end of his strength in the land of Mordor and unable to take another step. The burden of the Ring grows daily as they journey further into Mordor. Their food and water were scarce, and they have to trod the bare lifeless land crawling with orcs. Sam, exhausted and famished as he was, gives most of his food and water to Frodo and carries him up the steep side of the mountain. “…With a great effort of will he (Frodo) staggered up; then he fell upon his knees again…Sam looked at him and wept in his heart, but no tears came into his dry and stinging eyes ‘I said I’d carry him, if it broke my back,’ he muttered, ‘and I will.’ ‘Come Mr. Frodo!’ He cried. ‘I can’t carry it (Ring) for you, but I can carry you and it as well’” (964). Sam sticks to his master regardless of the dangers and pain to himself. Tires, footsore, and oppressed by the evil of Morodr, he still follows his master to whatever end—even into certain death. Also, when the 2 friends seek a way into Mordor, Gollum leads them into the den of Shelob, a huge, venomous spider. Shelob stings Frodo and he becomes unconscious, leading Sam to the illusion that his master is dead. Crushed, he leaves his master and hopes at least to finish the task for him. However, an orc troop passes close to the place where Frodo lay, and Sam hears from them that his master did not die—only stunned. Believing Frodo is a spy, the orcs bear him away to the tower of Cirith Ungol for questioning. Strengthened by this news, Sam set out as fast as he could, following the orcs, and trying to rescue Frodo.“I wonder if any song will mention it: How Samwise fell in the High Pass and made a pile of bodies around his master. No, no song. Of course not, for the Ring’ll be found, and there’ll be nomore songs. I can’t help it. My Place is by Mr. Frodo…I can’t be their Ring- bearer. Not without Mr. Frodo” (752-753). Sam knows his duty: supporting and helping his master, not carrying out the mission himself. There is a big possibility that both he and the Ring would be taken by the enemy, but he would never leave his master to torment in their hands. He chooses the hard way, like his master, but he proves to be on the right path.
As Sam and Frodo make their slow way towards the Land of Shadow, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli race across the green fields of Rohan, pursuing the orcs which had the two hobbits captive. Soon, however, they learn that Merry and Pippin had escaped from the orcs and fled into the forest of Fangorn. Here they hold a difficult choice because if they journey into Fangorn in search of their friends, they would approach Isengard, Saruman’s army base. On the other hand, they were hundreds of leagues from any civilization and their food was scarce. In the end, they choose to enter Fangorn and try to find Merry and Pippin, though it was hunting for a needle in a haystack. “’Then what shall we do now?’ Said Gimli. ‘We cannot pursue them through the whole vastness of Fangorn. We have come ill supplied. If we do not find them soon, we shall be no use to them, except to sit down beside them and show our friendship by starving together.’ ‘If that is indeed all we can do, then we must do that,’ said Aragorn” (503). Both Sam and the three hunters show great love and fellowship as they are willing to risk their lives for their friends.
Jesus says in John 15: 13, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this: to lay down his life for his friends.” The Fellowship and their friends view each other not as companions but as brothers. Today, when we look at our brothers and sisters, do we view them as blood brothers? Are we ready to starve with them if needs be? The sad truth is, we often lack Christ’s sacrificing love because we love only ourselves. Let us remember the words found in Matthew 25, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Conclusion
Obviously, two of the main reasons Frodo and his friends defeated Sauron come from perseverance and the support from friendship. Finishing such a colossal task requires Frodo’s tenacity, hope, and determination as well as love and help from his friends. Today, people sometimes find themselves in darkness or facing hard times like Frodo and the Fellowship. They often choose to avoid the circumstances and choose to drop out of the tales that really matter. This seems the easiest way, but Gandalf once said, “to go back is to admit defeat, and to face worse defeat to come” (302). Humans can never avoid hardships since the world is full of sin, so even if they succeed in escaping from one scrape, they will soon find themselves in a worst spot than before. Therefore, the best way to act in front of troubles is to face them—and Christians need not face them alone, because God will be with them, and true friends in Christ will also support them. I believe if they choose to face difficulties with resolution and hope from God, they will gain victory in the end.
2023年是J.R.R.托尔金的《指环王》发表的第69周年，也是彼得·杰克逊执导的同名电影发行的第20周年。岁月流逝，托尔金早已离世，但《指环王》依然是史上最伟大的文学和电影之一。许多人认为它是一本乏味沉闷的书，但"一本伟大的书能够带动你思考和感受，拓展你的视野，并挑战你的假设"。而这正是我的感受。我与《指环王》有着一段有趣的历程。当我七岁时，第一次在朋友Leo家看了《魔戒：护戒使者》，说实话，我对它没什么兴趣。最初我批评它是一部刺激但可怕的电影，电影中有两个场景让我难以忘怀：黑骑士追逐着弗罗多和他的同伴穿越夏尔，以及他们在摩瑞亚的“可怕”旅程。过了二三年，我们在家里和爸爸一起看了整部电影，但我仍然认为它只是一部普通的电影。但在2022年，发生了一件大事，妈妈花300元买了一本像字典一样大的书，书名叫《指环王》。暑假前我开始阅读这本书，并迷上了它。我立刻组织弟弟们一起再次观看了9小时的电影，还让凯勒读了这本书，并每晚给彼得读《指环王》。我们甚至开发了以这本书为基础的游戏。从那时到现在我已经将这本书通读4遍，听过三次有声版本，观看了两次电影，并研究了电影幕后故事以及所有演员。我们发现了关于电影最令人惊奇的事实，比如托尔金（作者）的儿子和孙子参演了电影。我们经常听电影里的音乐，我也从图书馆借读过托尔金的中土世界书籍，比如《贝伦和露西安》以及《精灵宝钻》。随着时间的推移，我对其内涵的理解与我生活中的困难和快乐融为一体，使我对它的热爱愈发深沉。
《指环王》(2)：坚韧与友谊导言
《指环王》是由约翰·罗纳德·鲁埃尔·托尔金创作的一部跨越时空的奇幻之作，耗时18年才完成并于1954年出版。故事中，黑暗领主索伦重掌中土大权，但唯一缺失的是掌控一切的至宝——指环。这枚指环拥有毁灭和控制的力量，使佩戴者隐形且永生，但不幸（当然是对索伦而言）在他被失败的时候丢失了指环，指环通过意想不到的途径传到一个普通的霍比特人弗罗多·巴金斯手中。弗罗多和他的朋友们决心将指环摧毁在末日火山中，以此阻止索伦获得力量。在他们危险重重的旅程中，同伴们分散，只剩下弗罗多和他的朋友山姆留下来完成任务，尽管一切似乎不可能，弗罗多和山姆仍然一步步走向末日火山，期间得到背叛的怪物咕噜的帮助。当他们最终到达火山口，任务即将完成之际，弗罗多被占有指环的欲望所控制，并将其据为己有，与此同时一直强烈渴望指环的咕噜与弗罗多在山边激战，最终咕噜取胜，但它在兴奋之中滑倒，坠入火焰之中，带着指环一同毁灭。指环在火焰中融化的一刹那，索伦的堡垒崩塌，黑暗的力量瓦解。弗罗多和山姆在筋疲力尽之际被朋友们从火山中救出，获得了安全。《指环王》展现了欲望的危险，智慧、毅力及友谊。
与邪恶斗争
首先《指环王》展示了在对抗邪恶时要坚韧不拔的真理。当弗罗多和魔戒远征队向南行进去往魔多时，索伦邪恶势力的阴影迅速笼罩整个中土世界。中土世界在流血、暴力和战争中呻吟，他们的任务似乎不可能完成。成千上万的邪恶生物和半兽人阻挡了他们的道路，戒灵追寻着他们，意图夺取魔戒，而索伦的大规模军队在魔多等待着他的命令，随时准备汹诵出击并屠杀他们。
在远征的两个月内，与弗罗多一同前往魔多的九人中已有两人丧命，其中包括甘道夫（他后来复活了）。魔戒的力量也开始渗透，腐化了魔戒同盟的波罗米尔，并导致他的死亡。弗罗多恐惧而绝望，为了避免被其他人背叛，他脱离了魔戒同盟，试图与山姆一起独自前往魔多，邪恶占了上风。
弗罗多说：“我真希望（邪恶）不会发生在我生活的时代。”
甘道夫说：“我也是，所有活在这样时代的人都希望如此。但这不是他们能决定的。我们需要决定的只是如何利用所给予我们的时间。”（第52页）
这是我整本书中最喜欢的段落之一，人们有时会问：“为什么这件事偏偏发生在我身上？”或者“为什么我必须生活在这样的时代和地点？”但甘道夫说得很对：这不由他们来决定，而是由上帝决定的，但他们仍然有选择的余地：选择朝向善良的生活，尽力而为，也可以选择躺平，听天由命，弗罗多和甘道夫显然选择了前者，因为他们没有退缩或放弃，相反他们选择了那似乎绝望又不可能的道路——但同时也是正确的道路，他们选择为了正义和善良而战，勇敢面对恐惧、邪恶，甚至是死亡。
此外，当魔戒同盟的另一名成员吉姆利因甘道夫的死感到绝望时，阿拉贡提醒他：“甘道夫的选择不是建立在顾全自己和他人安全之上，尽管结局可能会黑暗，开始某些事情总比拒绝退缩要好。”耶稣在马可福音8:35中说：“谁若为我的缘故和福音丧掉自己的性命，必救活他。”同样，魔戒同盟也愿意为了正义自愿牺牲生命，并最终获得了胜利。
真正重要的故事
山姆说：“‘我过去以为冒险故事中的主人公生活有些枯燥，而去寻找他们想要的东西，因为冒险充满刺激，对他们来说这是一种娱乐。但事实并非如此，对于那些真正深刻或让人铭记的故事来说，人们与冒险似乎只是不期而遇，他们的道路就像是命中注定。我想他们也像我们一样有很多回头的机会，只是他们没有那样做，如果他们退缩了，我们是不会知道他们的，因为他们会被遗忘，我们只会记住那些在艰难中选择继续前行的人——虽然他们不一定都有一个美好的结局，至少不是故事内部的人，而是故事外部的人所说的美好结局。你知道的，就像回家并发现一切都还好，尽管不完全一样——就像比尔博先生。但那些并不总是最好听的故事，尽管它们可能是大家最想选择进入的故事…… 伟大的故事难道永远不会终结吗？” ‘不，作为故事，它们永远不会结束，’ 弗罗多说，‘但其中的人物会在他们的角色结束时来来去去。我们的角色会在以后或者更早的时候结束。’”（728-729）
在人类历史的进程中，黑暗与光明之间的斗争从未停止，从亚当和夏娃到今天对教会的迫害，基督徒作为上帝的战士一代又一代为真理而战，上帝的救赎和属灵战斗的这个“伟大故事”仍在继续，所有的基督徒在其中都有自己扮演的角色，有一天我们的角色也会终结，但重要的是“打那美好的仗，跑那圣洁的路，持守那信心”。就像山姆说的，我们会有许多可以退缩的机会，但结局可能会很黑暗，而如果我们坚持下去，上帝在永恒中会纪念我们。
永恒的盼望
在魔戒同盟离开瑞文戴尔前往魔多的过程中，与黑暗势力对抗似乎是不可能的，在最黑暗的时刻即使不知道结果如何，他们仍然满有希望的全力以赴。例如，当霍比特人梅里和皮平被兽人抓获时，同盟的朋友们试图解救他们，然而兽人已经领先一步，三名同伴不得不步行追赶兽人，经过三天的徒劳搜索，矮人吉姆利怀疑霍比特人是否还活着，精灵莱戈拉斯提醒他的同伴，即使在最黑暗的时刻，希望仍然存在，因为未来是未知的。当他们决定追赶兽人解救朋友时，是出于爱和希望，而不是因为他们对结果有着任何信心，正如甘道夫所说，绝望只属于那些能清楚地看到结局的人。
此外索伦的聪明和愚蠢都为弗罗多完成使命提供了机会，并给同盟的人心中增添了希望。黑暗之王索伦坚定认为同盟将前往米那斯提力斯，并利用魔戒的力量粉碎他（我们已经在《指环王》：欲望与智慧之间的对抗中讨论过），因为如果索伦在他们的处境上肯定会这样做，于是他决定先发制人，在魔戒抵达之前，全力攻击米那斯提力斯。甘道夫评价索伦：“聪明的傻瓜，如果他用尽所有力量保卫魔多，从而使任何人都无法进入，并倾尽所有计谋追赶魔戒，那么希望的光芒将会熄灭：魔戒和弗罗多都无法长久地躲避他。但现在他大部分时间都在注视米那斯提力斯，他的注意力更多放在远方而不是聚焦眼前，”（509）。
索伦根据欲望来判断人的内心，他认为没有人能抵挡魔戒的诱惑，所有人都会利用魔戒达到自己的目的，他无法理解魔戒同盟的计划，因为他以恶的标准判断一切，所以他想象不到一个牺牲和舍己的道路。随着他的目光投向米那斯提力斯，弗罗多和山姆（他的仆人）开始有一丝希望能够悄悄进入魔多并摧毁魔戒。
在圣经中，曾经发生过类似的情况。当撒旦进入犹大的心中，并使他将耶稣卖给法利赛人时，他认为打败上帝的计划几乎完成了，他相信耶稣最终被他打败了，但他从未想过，通过他的“智慧”，耶稣为所有祂的儿女完成了救赎，撒旦和索伦都根据邪恶来判断一切，因此他们无法洞察出于善良所做的计划，正因为他们的愚蠢，弗罗多拯救了中土世界，而耶稣拯救了所有祂的儿女。这一点给弗罗多和魔戒同盟让人看到了战胜邪恶的希望。
简之言之，上帝按着他的形象创造了我们，我们应该善用周围的资源为他活着，并与邪恶争战。当我们走在上帝的道路上和撒旦争战时，我们有时会绝望，认为希望已经离我们远去，然而我们必须记住，撒旦越是似乎猛烈地攻击，我们就越要学会依靠上帝，虽然他确信会动摇我们的信仰（聪明的愚人lol），但实际上他在加强我们对上帝的信心，因为无论环境如何，上帝是所有坚持信仰并信靠祂之人的盼望。
牺牲与支持
《指环王》展示了友谊的力量，没有朋友们的帮助和爱，弗罗多无法到达末日山，完成他的使命。例如，当魔戒同盟穿过摩瑞亚矿坑时，他们遇到了一只恶魔般的怪物—巴尔罗格，在这里甘道夫告诉其他人快点跑向出口逃离巴尔罗格后，转身冒着生命危险独自与巴尔罗格战斗。巴尔罗格即将失败时发出可怕的咆哮，随即它的影子一头冲下去消失了，但就在它跌落的时候，它挥动的鞭子绕过甘道夫的膝盖，将他拽向悬崖边缘，甘道夫踉跄着倒了下去，滑入深渊。由于甘道夫的牺牲，魔界同盟成功逃离了矿坑，获得了安全，后来他甘道夫也从死亡中复活，升级成为白袍甘道夫。
另外刚铎的博洛米尔为了救出梅里和皮平，同样牺牲了自己的生命。叛徒萨鲁曼渴望得到魔戒派兽人攻击同盟，兽人们最先袭击了两个霍比特人，当时只有博洛米尔和他们在一起，他一个人勇敢的和半兽人军团展开战斗，保护他的同伴，“他坐在一棵树的背后……阿拉贡看到他浑身插满了黑羽箭矢；他的剑仍然在手中，但靠近剑柄处已经折断……许多兽人被杀倒在他周围，脚边也是一堆尸体”（423-424）。尽管博洛米尔曾经被魔戒的诱惑，但他真心悔改，最终甘心为梅里和皮平牺牲。他的故事告诉我们，没有任何一个朋友是完美的，朋友之间重要的是的爱与团结，无论时光有多黑暗，真正的朋友总是存在着爱与牺牲。
远征队之间的忠诚
也许同盟中最忠诚的人应该是山姆·甘吉。在整个旅程中，山姆竭尽全力帮助他的主人（在家里他是弗罗多的园丁）完成任务。有一次，弗罗多在魔多的土地上筋疲力尽，再也无法前进一步。随着他们深入魔多，魔戒的负担日益加重，食物和水变得稀缺，他们不得不在爬满兽人的贫瘠荒凉土地上跋涉。虽然山姆也是疲惫而饥饿，但他将大部分食物和水给了弗罗多，并在极其艰难中将他背上陡峭的山坡。“…他（弗罗多）奋力地爬了起来，然后又跪倒在地……山姆看着他，在内心中哭泣，但他干涩灼痛的眼睛没有流出一滴泪‘我说过我要把他背上，即使那会把我背折断，’他嘟囔着，‘我也一定会这么做。’‘来吧，弗罗多先生！’他喊道，‘我不能为你背负（指魔戒），但我能背起你， 顺便也背着它！’”（964）山姆不顾危险和痛苦，坚持跟随他的主人，无论走向何处——甚至走向必死之地。
还有一次，当两个朋友寻找进入魔多的方法时，咕噜领着他们来到蛛魔谷，里面住着一个巨大的毒蜘蛛，蛛魔咬了弗罗多，使他失去意识，当时山姆以为他的主人已经死了，他备受打击离开主人，希望自己能为主人完成他的任务。然而一支兽人军队恰巧经过弗罗多昏厥的地方，山姆从他们口中得知他的主人并没有死——只是昏迷了。兽人们认为弗罗多是间谍，就把他抬到西隆尤戈尔塔楼进行审讯，山姆立刻调转方向直奔塔楼。
“我不知道是否会有任何歌谣提到它：山姆怎样在高地坳中倒下，在他主人身边堆积了一群兽人的尸体。不，不会有歌谣。当然不会，因为魔戒会被找到，歌谣也将不再存在，但我没办法。我的位置就在弗罗多身边……我不能成为他们的魔戒承载者”（752-753）。山姆知道他的责任：支持和帮助他的主人，而不是他自己去完成使命，有很大可能他们和魔戒都会被敌人抓住，但他绝不会让主人在他们手中受苦。他就像他的主人一样选择了艰难的道路，同样他也走在了正确的道路上。当山姆和弗罗多缓慢前往魔多时，阿拉贡、莱戈拉斯和吉姆利飞奔穿过罗汉的大草原，追寻着掳走两个霍比特人的那群兽人，然而他们很快得知梅里和皮平已经从兽人手中逃脱，进入了芬戈恩森林。在这里他们面临着艰难的选择，如果他们进入芬戈恩寻找朋友，那将接近萨鲁曼的军事基地—伊森格德，而且他们周围数百里都荒无人烟，食物也很匮乏，即使寻找梅里和皮平像大海捞针，他们最终还是选择进入芬戈恩，试图找到梅里和皮平。
“我们现在该怎么办呢？’吉姆利说。‘我们无法穿越整个芬戈恩广袤无垠的地区追赶他们。我们没有充分的准备，如果我们不能很快找到他们，这种寻找对他们没有任何帮助，只能坐在他们旁边，与他们一起饿死来表答我们的友谊。”
’‘如果我们确实只能做这么多，那么我们必须这样做，’阿拉贡说”（503）。
山姆和这三位朋友都展示了爱与团结，因为他们愿意为朋友献出生命。耶稣在约翰福音15:13中说：“人的爱心没有比这个大，就是一个人为朋友舍命。”魔戒同盟和他们的朋友彼此相视为兄弟，而不仅仅是同伴。今天，当我们看着我们的弟兄姐妹时，是否视他们亲如骨肉？我们能否做到准备与他们一同饿死？可悲的事实是，我们常常缺乏基督那种牺牲的爱，因为我们只关心自己。让我们记住马太福音25章的话：“我实在告诉你们，你们既然为这些我弟兄中最小的一个所做的，就是为我做的。”
结论
很显然，弗罗多和他的朋友击败索伦的主要原因之一，来自于坚韧不拔的毅力和友谊的支持。完成如此艰巨的任务，弗罗多需要坚韧、盼望和决心，以及朋友们的爱和帮助。今天，我们时常面对像弗罗多及魔戒同盟一样的艰难时刻，有时也会陷入黑暗，面对这些我们经常选择逃避，并选择退出那些“真正重要的故事”，这似乎是最容易的方法，但甘道夫曾经说过：“退缩就是承认失败，并会迎来更糟糕的失败”（302）。由于世界充满了罪恶，人们永远无法避免困境，即使他们“成功”地避开了一种困境，很快他们就会发现自己陷入比以前更糟糕的境地。因此，面对困难的最佳方式是勇敢面对它们——而且基督徒无需孤军奋战，因为上帝将与他们同在，主里的弟兄姐妹也会支持他们。我相信，如果我们选择从上帝那里获得倍心和希望来面对困难，我们最终将获得胜利。