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| "Ruth, Naomi & Obed" by T.M.Rooke |
TO CHEW ON: "'And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him'" Ruth 4:15
It was no small praise that the women of Bethlehem heaped on Ruth a Moabite Gentile. What was it about her that made her "better...than seven sons"?
It was her love, which was more than just words. She demonstrated it:
- When she chose to go with Naomi instead of returning home to Moab with Orpah.
- When she offered to gather food for them.
- When she listened to Naomi's advice about how to glean in the customary way.
- When she followed Naomi's instructions and approached Boaz.
- When she married Boaz, a man who may have been old enough to be her father.
At the beginning of our story Ruth had nothing to give Naomi except her love. But when she gave what she had, she enriched countless lives—Naomi's, Boaz's, her own, and generations to come who will have an eternal home in heaven because of Ruth's descendant Jesus.
Maybe we can learn from Ruth in this. In situations where we feel helpless, where we can do nothing else, maybe we too can love and demonstrate that love in selfless, practical ways.
PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Ruth, this beautiful godly woman who distinguished herself by her love. Help me to be less self-centered, more willing to extend myself in practical acts of love. Amen.
MORE: Wesley speaks to Naomi (and us):
"See how God sometimes makes up the want of those relations from whom we expected most comfort, in those from whom we expected least! The bonds of love prove stronger than those of nature" - Wesley's Notes (scroll to entry under 4:15).
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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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