Well Said: Expressing Christ in Our Own Stories

Gandalf and Frodo are not allegorical masks for Christ, as in a strict allegory, nor symbols for some aspect of human condition, as in a loose allegory. They are people in their own right. But because they are almost real people they can, as real people can, express Christ in their own way.

It is part of the Roman Catholic idea of the saints that each mirrors Christ in an individual way, expressing facets of the infinite Personality, which could not all be expressed in one finite life, no matter how great. The historical Christ, for example, was not a philosopher nor a King; but St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Louis of France show us something of what He might have been like if He had been. Thus Gandalf and Frodo, while being very real and very individual, also have something to tell us about Christ.

Richard L. Purtill, Lord of the Elves and Eldils

I like thinking of expressing Christ in my own story. It's a phrase that appeals to me since all our lives are stories. Of course, from our own points of view, each of us is the star of our story. How am I doing at expressing Christ? And how often? All the time or just a little? My answers are my own but they push me for a fuller and better expression.