Hobbiton. Shire Year, 1401. - Even as the Creator is revealed in His creation, so too is the subcreator reflected in his subcreation. Much can be learned of mankind by spending time with that and those which we have conceived and affected. No single being, action, or artifact will inform us totally of ourselves but every individual person or thing tells us something. Of hobbits, in particular, this is certainly true.

Hobbits are an unobtrusive but very ancient people, more numerous formerly than they are today; for they love peace and quiet and good tilled earth: a well-ordered and well-farmed countryside was their favourite haunt. They do not and did not understand or like machines more complicated than a forge-bellows, a water-mill, or a hand-loom, though they were skilful with tools. . . .

“Though slow to quarrel, and for sport killing nothing that lived, they were doughty at bay, and at need could still handle arms.”

There is much to be admired about the character and nature of hobbits, although there is admittedly some things not so deserving of praise. There are clearly attributes that reflect how believers should and (in some cases) do exist; in this capacity they serve as a telescope through which we may garner a glimpse of what God desires for us. There are also those qualities and mannerisms of our hobbitic relatives that are more in keeping with manifestations of our fallen nature; this perspective provides us with a mirror in which we can see our own flaws and failings.

Hobbits “love peace and quiet and good tilled earth, thereby fulfilling Paul’s admonition to the Thessalonians: “to aspire to live quietly, and to mind [their] own affairs, and to work with [their] hands.” They are “unobtrusive,” i.e., out of the spotlight, not demanding their own rights and privileges at every turn, and perhaps even seeming reticent - although their ability to go on endlessly about trivia is well-known. This is all quite good and right, of course.

They have no need for complicated machines or machinations, content with utilizing the power of nature without detracting from it. Hobbits are not Luddites (they pre-date them by thousands of years!) and have welcomed some of the more basic inventions that have come more recently, but they have no stomach for those that destroy or mar God’s creation: they simply do not understand either the need or the callousness required to do such deeds.

Hobbits are simple stewards, not malevolent masters, of their environment. They are not compelled to make “progress” simply because they might: just because something could be done does not demand that it should be done. Hobbits understand this quite well.

These elusive residents of the Shire are typically quite peaceful but can, if aroused or required by need, stand their ground and fight with a courage and toughness far beyond their stature. It is foolish to underestimate the resilence and bravery of Halflings.

In contrast to too many evangelical Christians today, Hobbits are not so-called “sportsmen”: they take no joy in the death of any living thing and take life only when necessary - and then with respect and sadness. They do not measure courage, skill, or manhood by the size and ferocity of slaughtered people or animals. They know who they are and need not thump their chests to convince or remind themselves of their identity.

The depth and breadth of these convictions is seen - or unseen - in the fact that it is difficult (perhaps even impossible) to find traces or evidence of Hobbits having been and still being in our world. They do not scar the earth or pollute it with trash and byproducts. In fact, a forest or field through which Hobbits pass is likely more unscathed and pristine than it was before they were there. In this they are much like the Savior, who Himself left no evidence of His time among us.

There is much, indeed, to be learned from these small people who, while leaving no footprints, leave an indelible imprint on those who follow after them on occasion. Those of us who identify ourselves with Christ Jesus would do well to imitate Hobbits as they, indeed, follow His example.



Namárië.