In my english Literature class, we're currently in the process of reading Beowulf. It's a story of a man (named Beowulf) who goes and helps a king named Hrothgar get rid of a monster named Grendel who had been attacking a place called Heorot for twelve years. Dozens of people in Hrothgar's own country had tried to kill Grendel, but none were successful. But still, Beowulf counted himself "as dangerous any day as Grendel" (Line 678), so not only did he decide to fight Gendel, he decided to fight him without weapons.
This isn't my first time reading Beowulf; my first reading of it was about two years ago in a Mythologies of the World class. What sticks out to me most in this reading that I had forgotten since last time is how many references to God and fate there are. When Beowulf arrived in Heorot, Hrothgar said "Now Holy God has, in His goodness, guided him [Beowulf] here to the West-Danes to defend us from Grendel" (381-383). Prior to his battle with Grendel, Beowulf said "Whichever one death fells must deem it a just judgement by God" (440-441), and "May the Divine Lord in His wisdom grant the glory of victory to whichever side he sees fit" (685-687). Beowulf knew he was an incredible man; as the narrator said, "There was no one else like him alive" (196), but he also knew that he might lose this fight, and his life, to Grendel, describing in gory detail the results of that possibility (442-450). Nevertheless, Beowulf "placed complete trust in his strength of limb and the Lord's favor" (669-670), and he, being the hero of the story, was victorious.
After the battle, Hrothgar commented "now a man, with the Lord's assistance, has accomplished something none of us could manage before now for all our efforts" (938-941), then, to Beowulf, "May the God of Ages continue to keep and requite you well" (954-955). Of this battle, Beowulf said, "We have gone through with a glorious endeavor and have been much favored in this fight we dared against the unknown" (957-959), seeming to give credit to the favor of the Lord. He then described how he had planned to wrestle Grendel down and perhaps strangle him, "But I couldn't stop him from slipping my hold. The Lord allowed it, my lock on him wasn't strong enough; he struggled fiercely and broke and ran" (966-969). However, Beowulf's grip was strong enough to break the monster's arm off as the rest of him fled, and the loss of blood soon ended Grendel's life. The narrator had even more to say on the subject; "The monster wrenched and wrestled with him, but Beowulf was mindful of his mighty strength, the wondrous gifts God had showered on him: he relied for help on the Lord of All, on His care and favor. So he overcame the foe, brought down the hell-brute" (1269-1274).
The moral of the story, in case it's not already overwhelmingly obvious, is explicitly stated by the narrator at least twice: "The truth is clear: Almighty God rules over mankind and always has" (700-702); "Past and present, God's will prevails" (1057). According to the narrator and the characters in the story, God wanted Beowulf to go to Heorot, wrestle with Grendel, defeat the monster by pulling his arm off, but fail to stop the dying hell-brute from escaping, leaving Beowulf holding his arm, so that's exactly how it happened. While I personally don't think that God's influence in our lives is that controlling, I do believe that God has a plan and that He's not afraid to pull a few strings when He has to. He certainly would have had to pull a few strings to help Beowulf defeat Grendel with his strength alone, and perhaps He's pulling a few strings in our own lives as well. Maybe the author intended to use this story to help it's hearers and readers to recognize God's influence in their own lives, and to actively follow God's plan for them.
As a result of reading this story for the second time, I'm going to try to look for the hand of God in my life and give Him credit for the help He gives me. I'm sure that many of my blog posts have received heaven's help in their writing, and perhaps this one has as well. I'm certain that most of the good things in my life are gifts from God and that He's trying to guide me down whatever path He has laid out for me. I pray that I may have the wisdom to see it and the faith and courage to follow it.
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