Film Friday When young John Ronald Tolkien needs a scholarship to continue his Oxford studies he goes to Professor Wright to try and convince him that he loves languages…
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Tolkien has already invented his own language, and his love for this will one day lead to him inventing an entire world of Middle Earth, and a series of books and (eventually) films loved by millions. ‘Language is the lifeblood of a culture. A people.’ So he says to Professor Wright, who understands entirely. When, years later, Tolkien begins work on the Hobbit, his dark and difficult years in the First World War feed into all he wishes to convey.
When the writers of the New testament began to record their experiences, they did it because they wanted to pass on the tales of this brand new culture they had found in following Jesus; passing on the extraordinary tales of the transforming lifeblood of God’s kingdom, now found in the caring, ragged, torn figure of his son. The might of the Roman Empire was bearing down upon them and they saw how vital it was to get this stuff written down. Thank goodness they did. Thousands of years later we are here today, able to read and absorb the lifeblood of this new culture through the living words they have passed on to us. When Old Testament Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel were told to pass on their message, they were warned that few people would listen. They can have had no idea that in 2019, 2 billion Christians worldwide would be learning from their godly writings. This is why I feel it is so important to keep reading their words, the Bible is honest and powerful, full of the ups and downs, questions and visions of those who have encountered the living God. It is not always easy to read, sometimes seeming as dense as an overstuffed Christmas cake, but it is always worth chewing on these words of life, absorbing them, and praying for the wisdom and love to be able to take them into our daily living.
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