The Tin Man and Oz

"But Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man that he didn't, didn't already have. . . . So please believe in me. . ." ("Tin Man" by America; written in 1974 by Dewey Bunnell.)

The Tin Man is a fictional character in the American fairy-tale, The Wizard of Oz. The Tin Man is convinced that he could be a much better person if he only had a heart. He wants others to believe in him but he is not confident in himself.

I'd be tender, I'd be gentle
And awful sentimental
Regarding love and art
I'd be friends with the sparrows
And the boy that shoots the arrows
If I only had a heart1

After many adventures, along the Yellow Brick Road, which show that the Tin Man, and his companions, already possess the characteristics which they have been seeking, we realize that the Wizard of Oz does not need to, and indeed has no power to, give them anything. How many of us desire to be good, prayerful, holy, loving, generous, or valiant and treat it as a destination to which we one day may attain. Yet, by God's grace, we already possess the ability to achieve these qualities. They are evident only as we express them along the journey toward His Kingdom.

1 The Wizard of Oz. Directed by Victor Fleming. Performed by Jack Haley. 1939.