There is a war being waged for the souls of men, for the family, for fatherhood, [fill in the blank]…

Before we rise up and engage in the war being waged, it is essential that we band together with a fellowship of people we trust to join with us in the battle. We see this theme played out in the in the epic battle of good against evil in The Lord of the Rings. The leaders of middle earth meet at Rivendell to strategize on how to destroy the ring and how to defeat Sauron. For good to triumph in middle earth, the ring had to be destroyed by throwing it into the fires of Mount Doom where it was forged.

Not sure you caught this during this memorable scene where the fellowship of the ring was formed, but it highlights the wisdom of the Elf Lord, Elrond. He understood the dangerous quest that faced them and the importance of a fellowship. He challenges the men with this, “Strangers from distant lands, friends of old, you have been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle Earth stands upon the brink of destruction; none can escape it. You will unite or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom. Bring forth the ring, Frodo.”

So what happens? The men of middle earth, the elves, and the dwarfs went right to “I” instead of the “We” and began to argue about which one of them should take the Ring. In the midst of the chaos, Frodo Baggins, a simple and humble hobbit stepped up to the task, “I will take it! I will take it! I will take the Ring to Mordor!” But even more importantly, Frodo had the humility and wisdom to admit his shortcomings: “Though… I do not know the way.”

Gandalf is immediately drawn by Frodo’s humility and steps up, “I will help you bear this burden, as long as it is yours to bear.” Aragorn then joins in by offering his gifts to the mission, “By my life or death, if I can protect you, I will! You have my sword.” Then immediately Legolas and Gimli are inspired to offer their unique and different strengths: “And you have my bow!” responded Legolas. “And my ax!” followed Gimli. And Sam, Frodo’s wonderful and loyal hobbit friend asserts, “Mr. Frodo is not going anywhere without me!” So a total of nine companions of the “Fellowship of the Ring” each offer themselves to the dangerous mission to destroy evil in the world.

This Fellowship offers a wonderful illustration of a group of men uniting to accomplish something truly great and noble that could never have been achieved alone.

So many of us go at it alone, especially men. Why is that?

Who would be in your fellowship?