Come, Mr. Frodo!' he cried. 'I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you and it as well. So up you get! Sam will give you a ride. Just tell him where to go, and he'll go.'
These words moved me so much as I watched the last scenes of the epic movie “Return of the King.” This scene showcased Samwise, as he offered his strength to Frodo when all their hopes seemed lost.
They needed to bring the ring of power to Mount Doom in Mordor because it was the only way to destroy it. They went on a long and difficult journey and the challenges on the road from the Shire to Mordor drained all of Frodo’s strength. Samwise knew that it was now up to him to complete the task after uttering those heroic words. He gathered what strength he had left and carried Frodo on his back to complete the mission.
As I look back to this story, I couldn’t help but think that Samwise deserved more recognition for his efforts in the film. I honestly think that he should be the hero of the story and not Frodo. I am not really an authority about this since I only watched the film and didn’t read the books, but without Samwise, Frodo fails.
This goes to show that not all who work on important roles will get the recognition that they deserve. This goes to show that people who are not popular has lesser value in society, it only means we all play important roles, but not all get the limelight.
Consider the human body. There’s a lot of hype with our hands, feet, and abs but we can live without them. Think about the lungs, if we damage our lungs we will die. And yet we rarely talk about the lungs compared to the number of times we mention the heart and the brain.
1 Corinthians 12:21-27
New International Version (NIV)
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honourable we treat with special honour.
And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honour to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.
26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
Every one of us plays a very important role. No one can say that our duties are insignificant. Our tasks may seem irrelevant, but God’s plans will not come to pass without the completion of the duties we think of as mundane.
This reminds me of the story of Naaman.
2 Kings 5:13-14
New International Version (NIV)
13 Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!”
14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.
Let me give you a bit of background. Naaman is a valiant soldier who pleased God. God gave Naaman a lot of victories in battle. The problem was Naaman had leprosy.
Naaman’s wife had a servant girl from Israel and this servant informed Naaman about a prophet in Israel that could heal his disease.
Bearing gifts, Naaman sought after the prophet of Israel named Elisha. Naaman expected Elisha to meet him personally but met with Elisha’s messenger instead. It was Elisha’s messenger who delivered the message to Naaman that the soldier should go to the river Jordan and dip himself seven times.
Naaman was offended. Perhaps he thought that Elisha saw him unworthy and that was the reason why Elisha didn’t show his face. Naaman wanted to leave Israel right away without even trying to do any of Elisha’s instructions.
Fortunately, Naaman surrounded himself with good people. 1st he had a servant girl who pointed him to the right direction and 2nd, he had other servants who could persuade him to do the right thing despite his emotional state.
Most of the people who helped Naaman receive his healing were not even named in the story. No one remembers them but if not for their efforts, Naaman won’t be remembered as well.
Friends, not everyone will have their time in the spotlight in this world, nevertheless, it doesn’t mean that those who miss out on the showcase are insignificant. Do not forget that God knows everything about us. We may not get the recognition that we deserve from people, but we will get more than we deserve from God. Keep working hard!