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A Better Outlook: A Reflection from Ruth

TBCA Blog Header Ruth Eaton

In the Young Profession’s Ministry, we just finished the book of Ruth. We had a great time exploring how Ruth and Boaz fell in love, the customs of their day, and how God brings restoration to those who remain faithful. An interesting theme that we quickly noticed from the book of Ruth was how she was often referred to as “Ruth the Moabite.” If you know anything about the Moabites, you know that they came about from the incestuous relationship between Lot and his oldest daughter. As the Moabite clan grew, they also became known as a group who worshiped pagan idols. So, to the Jewish people in that day, all Moabites were viewed as heathen because of their ungodly heritage.  Hence, from the start of Ruth’s life, she had a predetermined reputation that was working against her. Yet despite this, her beloved Boaz allowed himself to see past this prejudiced reputation and instead see the noble character and faithfulness of Ruth, which would soon be recognized throughout all of Bethlehem. Maybe a modern way of describing this is that instead of writing Ruth off, Boaz genuinely got to know her, and I am certainly glad he did!  Through their eventual marriage, their lineage gave birth to Christ our Savior.

In our book study, the college students and I discussed how powerful it was to see Boaz acknowledge Ruth for who she truly was as opposed to stereotyping her. While we all aspired to be like Boaz, we began to share how we can so easily write people off without taking the time to get to know them. People may look, vote, or act differently than us, causing us to quickly turn them away. Let’s be honest, most of us can recall that awkward person in our Sunday School class or Connect Group that we so easily shied away from.  The truth is, that while we may aspire to be like Boaz, we often fall short and unfortunately decide too quickly to write others off for one reason or another. So how do we solve this dilemma? Well, we have to see ourselves for who we actually are in this love story… we’re Ruth.

You see, we all come with a story (that’s just a nice way to say baggage). We all have a history with things that aren’t so pleasant. And to be specific to our stories, we all have sinned. We are in need of a Boaz to look beyond our past and see us as image bearers of God. The person who has done this for us is Jesus Christ. Despite ourselves, he sought out to redeem us through the price of his life. We, a people undeserving of redemption, were pursued by God anyways. Wow! If that doesn’t touch you, then I don’t know what will!

Seeing ourselves as Ruth in this story will soon give us the desire to have the outlook of Boaz and ultimately of our Savior, Jesus. We will then be able to more easily move toward those different from us. We will have fresh eyes that see others as made in the image of God who need His love just as much as we do. Such a realization is ironic because it then just shows us how much “un-different,” we actually are. Let’s all practice this outlook today and go out ready to build authentic, Christ-centered relationships with all those whom God may put in our path.

 

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