I have been thinking of Tolkien the last few days because my wife and I watched the entire Lord of the Rings movie trilogy on DVD. It was the first time that I have seen Peter Jackson's work in its intended, uncut form, and I have to say that I was pleased with much of what ended up left out, and bothered by much of which was left in.
Tolkien's mythos is an incomparably rich source of inspiration; I know many otherwise quite unreligious people who would nevertheless make excellent citizens of Middle Earth. As the article in First Things makes clear, the reason that Chesterton and Tolkien's writings ring so clear is that they enable us to see the world as it really is, by presenting it to us in a reflected and fantastic form.
I think the world we live in is an incredibly strange place, bustling with so much meaning and life that we are often blind to it.