One of the most intriguing aspects of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is his choice of the ring bearer. Tolkien had many characters to choose from, especially among the Fellowship. There was Aragorn, the rightful heir to the throne of Gondor, Legolas, an elf prince and skilled warrior, and even Gandalf a wizard unparalleled in experience. And yet, Tolkien picks one of the smallest of the group: Frodo Baggins, a hobbit from the Shire, a town of little renown.
Hobbits were considered “little” people, who were often barely noticed by the “big folk.” So why did Tolkien choose Bilbo to save the dwarves from the spiders of Mirkwood and eventually the Wood-elves as well in The Hobbit? Why did he choose Frodo to carry the Ring of Power into the depths of Mordor to cast it into Mount Doom? I would like to suggest that Tolkien, whether knowingly or not, keys into one of the major components which God uses in Salvation History, particularly in the Bible. Let me be more clear, God often uses those who are considered insignificant by worldly standards to do His will. I would like to give a few examples to back up this statement.
First, I would like to begin with King David from the Old Testament. Sacred Scripture tells us that, when the prophet Samuel comes to the house of Jesse looking for the man he is to anoint king over God’s people, he does not find him among the oldest of Jesse’s sons, but in the youngest son David. David was not even called by his father to be present when Samuel visited! David was off shepherding sheep, a lowly task often given to the youngest of a household. And so Samuel anoints David as king. This would have been quite shocking to his relatives. In the Old Testament, it was always the firstborn who would take over as head of a household when the father died. The firstborn would also receive a greater inheritance than the other children. But God chose David, Jesse’s youngest son. And what was God’s plan for David? Although not perfect, David built up the earthly kingdom of God’s people, won many military campaigns, and brought peace to a united Israel according to God’s will.
Another example we find is in the Gospel of John. There, we read that it was a young man who offered his bread and fish to feed the multitudes. “One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ‘There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so many?’” (RSV John 6:8-9) The young man would have been seen as a “nobody” and yet Jesus uses him as an instrument of His miracle of the loaves and fishes.
By far the greatest example we have is that of Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus, being God Almighty, chose to become man, be born into poverty, and even chose to be born in one of the smallest and insignificant towns in Palestine: Bethlehem. We know that Mary and Joseph were considered poor because of their offering of the doves in the Temple. And yet, what work did the Father send His Son to do? He sent His Son to redeem the world, destroy sin, and dethrone Satan. In the Lord of the Rings, Frodo acts like Christ (although Frodo fails in the end, he still represents Christ, but imperfectly as all “Christ figures” must) and has a similar mission, to bring the Ring of Power to Mordor, destroy it and rid Middle-Earth of the Dark Lord Sauron.
Why does God choose in this way? Why does He choose the humble and insignificant? The book of Samuel gives us the answer. When Samuel is introduced to Eliab, a son of Jesse, he thinks that he has found the one God wants him to anoint. God, however, has a different response:
“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’” (RSV 1 Samuel 16:7)
How then does all of this relate to The Lord of the Rings? Well, since God reads the hearts of men and does not judge them by their stature, it is clear why Tolkien, a good Catholic, chose Bilbo and Frodo to carry the Ring of Power. Thus, God does not choose those who outwardly appear to be able to do His will, but He chooses those whose hearts are actually able to do His will. As Servant of God Fr. John Hardon, S.J. put it, “What is important in the eyes of God is usually insignificant, even meaningless, in the eyes of men.”
Joseph Tuttle
Joseph Tuttle is a Catholic writer and author. His essays, articles, book reviews, and poetry have been published with or are forthcoming with Word on Fire Blog, Aleteia, Catholic World Report, Adoremus Bulletin, The University Bookman, The St. Austin Review, Homiletic and Pastoral Review, New Oxford Review, Voyage Comics Blog, and Missio Dei. He is the author, editor, or contributing author of numerous books including An Hour With Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (Liguori, 2021), Tolkien and Faith: Essays on Christian truth in Middle-Earth (Voyage Comics, 2021), and The Christbearer (Voyage Comics, 2023) He graduated cum laude from Benedictine College with a Bachelor of Arts in Theology. He is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Catholic Philosophical Studies at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology.