In The Return of the King, Denethor, Steward of Gondor (the
realm of men) says of himself to Gandalf, “Yet the Lord of Gondor is not to be
made the tool of other men’s purposes, however worthy. And to him there is no
purpose higher in the world as it now stands than the good of Gondor; and the
rule of Gondor, my lord, is mine and no other man’s, unless the king should
come again.”
To this Gandalf responds, “Unless the king should come
again? Well, my lord Steward, it is your task to keep some kingdom still
against that event, which few now look to see. In that task you shall have all
the aid that you are pleased to ask for.
“But I will say this: the rule of no realm is mine, neither
of Gondor nor any other, great or small. But all worthy things that are in
peril as the world now stands, those are my care. And for my part, I shall not
wholly fail of my task, though Gondor should perish, if anything passes through
this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to
come. For I also am a steward. Did you not know?”
I suppose that it’s not completely unimaginable that I
sometimes find inspiration in Gandalf's insight. I love this image: it is our
job, the job of men, to rule, but it is our ultimate destiny to submit our
rulership to the True King who is yet coming. Ultimately, our job is
stewardship.
Even more, like Gandalf, our task is stewardship of
“anything … that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower….” This includes
stewardship of our world, our influence in that world, our fellow human beings,
and of the planet that we now call home.
“Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who
wanted to settle accounts with his servants.” ~Matthew 18:23
(Many thanks to Kriston Couchey for provoking this line of
thought.)
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