Day 12: Ruth

But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” — Ruth 1:16

The story of Ruth weaves into God’s grand story of redemption – the larger story line of the Bible. A Moabite from outside Israel, at great personal cost, made a radical and brave choice to cut off ties with her past of unbelief and idolatry not only to serve Naomi, her mother-in-law, but also to commit to Naomi’s God and people. Through this action of pledging herself to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Ruth found herself playing a role she couldn’t have imagined.

When Boaz showed unexpected kindness to her and redeemed her, the resulting marriage and subsequent birth of Obed brought her into the ancestry of King David. And this new identity further culminated with a position in the lineage of David’s greater Son, Jesus Christ, the divine kinsman-redeemer who brought unexpected kindness to us and the whole world. Ruth, the Moabite, is part of the bloodline of redemptive grace.

How beautiful that, embedded in the lineage of the Messianic seed, Ruth’s story pictures the triumph of God’s grace! Eyes of faith recognized Israel’s God as the one true God and produced a piety of unswerving selfless devotion and daily self-giving love, despite difficult circumstances. The God she trusted showed her unexpected kindness that brought her redemption. And her story demonstrates how He advances His plan to redeem mankind through the faithful, everyday actions of His people as they manifest divine loyalty and friendship in their interactions with those around them. He redeems from the bondage of sin, brings the blessings of security and employs people in His kingdom purposes. Our country, Kenya, has many widows, single mothers and orphans struck by hardship and adversity of varied nature. Many are ignored, taken advantage of and poverty stricken. Often, they feel helpless, dejected and abandoned. I believe the story of Ruth has important lessons for them – and all of us – as we wrestle with the challenges in our lives.

First, God, the Creator, made known through Israel’s story and in Jesus, is the only sure foundation for every life. He orders life and dictates our circumstances of origin – where we live, what we eat and where we go, the continent, the country, the county and the family. Consequently, He wants us to view our day-to-day life within His bigger plan for us in His world, not bragging or complaining but trusting.

Second, His plan is to draw all mankind to Himself through the redeeming grace of the consummate Son of David, Jesus Christ, who fully pays the cost for our sin, adopts us into His family and bestows on us eternal security. His grace is for all people, Jew and Gentile alike. No person is too insignificant to be used for His glory regardless of their ethnic background, marital status or whether they are rich or poor. All who believe and faithfully get to the feet of Jesus are made heirs of salvation.

Third, He provides gifts of fellowship such as our marriages, our friendships, our families and communities. These demand commitments of time, money and talents in loving sacrifice, but He works through them to care for us and accomplish His purposes. Faithfully and thoughtfully showing love for others in sacrificial actions as the Spirit prompts, as Ruth did, could translate to great personal cost. Nonetheless, such acts have eternally significant value. No matter how broken life feels, accessing Christ’s redemptive love and His restoring grace is the only way to receive and experience wholeness. He embraces the brokenhearted and makes them part and parcel of the covenant people. Just as Ruth moved from emptiness to fullness by committing to Israel’s God and living a life of loving sacrifice, so the personal initiative of the one who believes, trusts and reflects selfless love in his or her daily life brings meaning and purpose in connection with the eternal kingdom of Jesus. The love and grace He showed Ruth are available to us today.