Frodo Baggins

Daily writing prompt

Who is the fictional character you relate to the most?

View all responses

I relate to Frodo (from Lord of the Rings) because both of us are ordinary, and I’d like to think that I’d be of some use to the world, despite my limitations.

Spiritually, I think of fictional characters in the parables of Jesus. I can relate to most of them. I see a little bit of me in so many of them. But if I have to choose the one I relate to most, I think of the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector:

Here it is:

Luke 18:9-14
⁹ He also spoke this parable to certain people who were convinced of their own righteousness, and who despised all others: ¹⁰ “Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and prayed by himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of men: extortionists, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³ But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn’t even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his chest, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

One congratulated himself on how well he was doing, though on the surface, he gave credit to God. The other said “God be merciful to me a sinner.” I can relate to both, and I can resemble both. But I know the one that I should resemble – the one who humbly depends on God’s mercy.

Here are some hymns about God’s mercy: