Finishing the Task

“So Ruth stayed by the young women of Boaz until the end of the barley and wheat harvests.” Ruth 2:23

Jesus talked finishing the task assigned to us. He likened our lives to a servant who was put in charge of others until his master came back. The servant did it for a while, but then grew tired of the task and slacked off in his work. That servant was condemned by his returning master. The tiring work of gleaning, the painful, back breaking work of gleaning, must have worn on Ruth, but she stayed the course. Season after season of hard labor did not change her mind or her intent to do what both Boaz and Naomi had told her to do.

God has given us plenty of work to do for Him. It is not easy work, or everyone would want to do it. It isn’t highly rewarding work in the world’s eyes, or everyone would want to do it. But He as called us to do it and if we are faithful servants, we will. The reward will come.

 Dear Father, Help us to not let our hearts grow faint, but to be faithful. Amen

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Refreshing News

“And Naomi said to her Ruth, ‘Blessed be he of the Lord who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead’.” Ruth 2:20

A little good news can go a long way. In a world where bad news predominates, good news is as welcome as a cool drink on a hot day. It refreshes. It strengthens. It revives. Ruth’s news to Naomi about where she gleaned and in whose field she worked was the cool drink on a hot day for Naomi. She had returned to Bethlehem and wanted to be called “Mara”, or Bitter. She had seemingly lost everything. and things looked so dim that she felt abandoned by God. But she wasn’t.

God may be occasionally hidden from our clear vision, but He is never gone. That Ruth had found favor from Boaz, a near relative, was the cool drink on a hot day. God was there after all, God doesn’t forget us. We are His. That the clouds of this world sometimes obscure our eyes doesn’t change the fact that God is there. This is good news.

Dear Father, Thank You for always being there. Amen

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Fed to Feed

“So, Ruth brought out what remained of her lunch and gave it to Naomi.” Ruth 2:18

Great grace had been extended to Ruth. Abundant Grace had been given to her. She, an outcast from God’s people, had been embraced by the ancestor of Christ and welcomed into his family circle. She had feasted at his table. She had been given handsful of purpose. And what did she do with it? She shared it! That’s right. She shared it. She didn’t hide from Naomi the nearly one bushel of grain she had gleaned. She willingly shared with Naomi the food she had been given.

So here it is. The perfect picture of what our lives should be like. We should not be hoarding the grace of God for ourselves. There is a world starving for the grace of God, and we have been given it in abundance. People die in a state of spiritual hunger every day, and they pass into a hopeless eternity. We have the Bread of Life in our hands. We need to share it. God will hold us accountable if we don’t.

Dear Father, Help me share the Bread of Life with a hungry world. Amen

  The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

 

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It Can't Get Any Better Than This

“And let fall some of the handsful of purpose for her.” (KJV) Ruth 2:16

We have arrived at my favorite verse in my favorite book of the Bible. In my book, The Gospel According to Molly, I wrote an entire chapter on this verse. This verse should bring tears to our eyes and a rush of unspeakable joy to our hearts. It is Jesus Himself saying to us, “I am leaving plenty for you, purposefully for you, food that is mine alone to give to you. I command the very angels of heaven to drop them for you.”

Boaz did not put the handsful of purpose in the bag for her. She still bent to the labor that was her assigned task. The provision was made by his grace. It became a reality as she followed his workers through the field. The apostles and prophets have given us plenty of food in God’s Word to pick up and nourish ourselves. We have no need to be hungry in body or in heart or in spirit, for God still leaves us handsful of purpose.  

Dear Father, Thank You for the generous provision You make for us. Amen.

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Come to the Feast

“Boaz said to her, ‘Come here and eat of the bread and dip it in the vinegar.” Ruth 2:14

Blessed assurance was offered by Boaz to Ruth in the form of meal with His people. He invited her to the table of fellowship and provision. At our church we have this table of fellowship and provision twice each month. It is called Holy Communion. It is where the body of Christ, the Church, is invited by Christ to take part in the feast of His Bread and His Blood. The people in the next field over were not invited. But Ruth was. She had believed Boaz’s promise and now she got to feast at His table.

I believe this passage is the first and clearest Old Testament picture of Communion. Boaz had made a generous offer to a complete stranger. Ruth had believed his offer and stayed in his field. He invited her to come and dine on his bread and vinegar which was an unleavened wine. Jesus offers the same invitation to all who believe. Come and dine.

Dear Father, Thank You for the invitation to the table of Your Son. Amen

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Blessed Assurance

“Ruth said, ‘Let me find favor in your sight, for you have comforted me’.” Ruth 2:13

Ruth accepted Boaz’s gracious invitation. She was comforted by his grace. She was refreshed by his grace. The grace of Boaz was “Abundant Grace”. Ruth’s plea was not for more grace, but for the simple assurance that what Boaz had offered he would deliver. It seems a simple request, a request that Jesus understands and gladly gives us.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus said to His disciples, “I will not leave you as orphans.” In their sorrow he offered them comforting assurance. After they abandoned Him after His arrest in the Garden, He appeared to them while they cowered in fear in the Upper Room. When He was ready to ascend into heaven He told them, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Jesus know we need assurance and He graciously gives it every day. Ruth’s request was simple, and Boaz graciously fulfilled his word. Jesus will do no less for us.

Dear Father, Thank You for the many assurances of Your grace. Amen

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Focus Is Important

“Let your eyes be on the field which they ‘my workers’ reap.” Ruth 2:9

Is staying focused hard for you? It is often hard for me. Constant demands, the needs of the day or the needs of the job, beckon me to distraction. I find myself often saying, “Now, where was I?” Ruth had to provide food for her mother and herself. She might have noticed that reapers in other fields weren’t as conscientious as the servants of Boaz. They might have been sloppy in their work and dropping lots of barley, and she saw a bigger prize, more food, in another field. But Boaz said, “Don’t look over there, stay focused.”

The world has many allurements. They appear in all places in all designs and in all temptations. “Come over here,” Satan calls. “It will be easier and more fun.” But Satan is and always has been and always will be a liar. Jesus calls us to stay steadfastly in His field following the way of His disciples as taught in His word. We don’t want to get distracted.

Dear Father, Help me to stay focused on the prize of Jesus. Amen

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