Recently a visiting preacher at our church picked up on the story of Ruth. He particularly applied the message to those who might identify with Boaz in the story. At our life group, we broadened this out and asked people who they identified with in the story. In fact we discussed who we might want to identify with and who we feared identifying with. I suspect we all want to be a Ruth, Boaz or Naomi. However, we fear that we might turn out to be Elimelech making decisions that lead to trouble or an Orpah or the guy who turns down the responsibility of being a kinsman redeemer and marrying Ruth. We fear that we might, for all good and respectable reasons opt out from the grace and blessing offered to us.
However, I also believe that we can find ourselves identifying with the gleanings. In Boaz’s harvest field was the main crop but then at the edges were the bits left over for the poor to glean for their own use. We can feel like that, individually and as churches, especially if we are not part of the big, high profile flagship churches in London or the city centres. Those churches have their part to play. However, if we feel like we are on the edge, on the margins then it’s good to remember that this was exactly the place where Ruth met her redeemer, Boaz. There are so many people at the edge, on the margins who need to meet the true and better Boaz, Jesus and find their redeemer. There’s plenty of blessing among the gleanings.
Faithroots 