(June 10, 2020)
From Ruth 3:15
“…pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.”
One of the foundational moments in the life of God’s People was the Exodus. It has been – and is – core to our identity that we have freedom thanks to the saving acts of God. The ancient Hebrews were rescued from the clutches of Pharaoh many years before Ruth, but the effects were lasting.
Consider Deuteronomy 24:19, 22: “When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands… Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.”
Identifying with those who are poor and foreigners. Identifying with the oppressed. Identifying with those who need mercy. With those who need to be rescued. It should be easy for that is who we were. And that is who we are. It is written deeply into the core of our story.
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Boaz went above and beyond the command in Deuteronomy 24. He was able to be generous with others because he had experienced God’s extravagant grace himself. How too can we not be generous if we have received the Son? How can be not be generous if our hearts have been changed to be more like God’s heart – for that is who He is. When we are generous, we are simply living as His Children.
People of the world rejoice in their material abundance and comfort themselves with it. But Christians are different. We are thankful not simply for what we have; we are thankful that we are able to give.
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Our Father in Heaven, thank You that you have lavished such grace upon us that we have been called Children of God. Give us glad and generous hearts. Thank You for being so generous that you gave us Your Son Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
