I was recently watching The Battle of the Five Armies from The Hobbit series and there was a scene that brought me to tears. In the beginning of the film Bard is going face to face with the dragon, Smaug, and has just shot his last arrow but failed to hit the target. It seemed he was at the end of his journey and surely facing death when his son appeared with the only weapon that could pierce the dragon’s hide and save the city. At first, Bard was distraught because his son had put himself in danger to help him but he soon realized it was the only way for the dragon to be defeated. Bard and his son were stranded on a tower with no way to use the weapon and a fierce dragon was literally breathing down their necks. Smaug then starts towards them and begins to fire insults, 

“Who are you to challenge me? You cannot save your son.” 

The scene plays back to Bard and the audience sees that he has placed the weapon on his son’s shoulders and is planning to use him as a launching point. Smaug continues to taunt him claiming his son will be lost to the fire but Bard has seen a weak point in the dragon’s hide. He balances the weapon on the son’s shoulder and asks him to scoot a little to the left. The son begins to panic and looks back at Smaug. Bard looks directly in his son’s eyes and says, 

“Look at me, son. You look at me.”

He then fires the weapon and it pierces the dragon through the heart and the battle is won. This paints a beautiful picture of the heart of the Father. When we are terrified of what lies behind us and begin to look back He grabs our attention and states very simply for us to look only at Him. The simplicity of the nature of the Father’s heart is one of the most beautiful messages of the gospel. Regardless of what our circumstances are, our family trauma, or even our thoughts for ourselves we can never doubt the love that fills the heart of the Father. 

Recently, I had an experience that put this into practice. I had a check up with my oncologist to make sure that I was healthy. I chose to go online and read the report way before my appointment and thought I read something that indicated my cancer had come back. I spent the next three days trying to process this information and was terrified. I had just started a new job and was finally getting back on my feet again. To lose all of that again was going to be a tough pill to swallow. I went to the Lord about it and I felt like the son in the movie. The Lord had placed the only weapon that could defeat the beast on my shoulder and only asked that I look at Him instead of what was happening behind me.

When I went into my appointment I had found my peace again and was prepared for any news, good or bad. My doctor walked in and not only gave me good news about my scan but also affirmed me that I didn’t need any further treatment. It was even better than I expected. That following Sunday I asked the Lord to feel the heart of the Father during worship at church and He once again delivered in an even greater way than expected. I sat in the middle of the sanctuary sobbing as I felt His love course through me. I was completely enveloped in gratitude. 

The simplicity of the Father’s heart is that it is good and desires the best for us. There isn’t some sketchy agenda hiding behind the curtain of Him wanting to spend time with us. He just wants to know His kids as He created them. To be fully known by an uncreated God is pleasure far beyond comprehension but we have the rest of our life to respond. 

Much love,

Lis