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"Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: . . . Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;" Psa 103:1, 2, 4

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Dear Friends in Christ,

In yesterday's mail, I received a magazine--a first copy of a new publication called "by faith". There were several good articles in the magazine, including the one below by Sam Wheatley who has graciously given permission for me to reprint the article here. We are reminded and encouraged in this article (subtitled "Profound Lives of Ordinary People") that ". . . those mundane everyday choices to follow God's Word, to believe the truth, to stand with God's people...are the places where greatness is forged." Further, that "When THE final story is sung, we'll gasp to find that the great battles were actually ones we witnessed, by people we knew. There are no insignificant moments, or people, in the story of God's family". Let us "press on" to follow our Lord in His example and in His teachings, with the help of the Holy Spirit and the providence of our loving, heavenly Father. May Christ be pre-eminent in all things.*

Yours in Christ,
Elaine

*Colossians 1:18 - And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence.
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Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz: Profound Lives of Ordinary Believers
by Sam Wheatley

God provides for His people; He can be trusted. This is the message of the book of Ruth. The providence of God nourishes and sustains the story of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz. It is an ever-present reality behind every tragedy and joy--there is no circumstance beyond the control of the God of tender mercies. As the characters take center stage in this drama, they reveal this truth by their actions. Because God provides, they risk, act boldly, and are honest in their faith.

Naomi steadfastly holds to the doctrine of Providence--a hearty belief in God's power and ability to provide for herself and others. "May the Lord show His tender mercy to you," she tells Ruth. Yet she simultaneously voices her own pain and heartbreak to her community. "Don't call me Naomi (pleasant); call me Mara (bitter), because the Almighty has made my life very bitter."

Godliness is ruthless trust in an all-powerful God, welded to a passionate honesty. Great men and women of faith are not easy to live with--they deconstruct our small understandings of God with their vise-like grip on the truth. Naomi refuses to let go of a God who will provide (even in the face of want and hurt) while she expels her pain into speech. Naomi is honest with herself and God, revealing exactly where she is emotionally. Because she knows God is God, she can be real.

By the end of her story Naomi, the empty one, is full. The bitter one is again rejoicing. The struggle leads to joy--God provides; He can be trusted.

Ruth has learned to trust in the character of God rather than the appearance of the situation. This God of mercy is unlike the gods of her native Moab. Here is a God who provides, who cares, and who loves His people. Here is a God to be trusted. So Ruth refuses to return to her people, because she, by faith, now has a new people, a new hope, and a new homeland. Following Naomi back to Bethlehem, Ruth begins to see things "just so happen" to work out. "As it turned out" the field that Ruth goes to glean is owned by Boaz who "just so happens" to be a kinsman-redeemer to the family. Even the seemingly coincidental acts of life are within God's gracious care.

Because Ruth rests in the God who provides, she can risk. Ruth risks her reputation, her safety, and her heart when she approaches Boaz on the threshing floor at midnight. She acts because she rests in the tender kindnesses of God, which have become increasingly obvious. God's character of mercy has become to Ruth something more tangible than the externals. Ruth embodies genuine faith--a steadfast confidence in the character of God that propels her obedience. To the watching world, the action seems to be a gamble, but to Ruth it is the clear next step.

As we follow the path of God's providence, it will seem to outsiders a dangerous enterprise. But to people of faith, the risk of obedience is not risk, but the only way to peace, life, and community.

"There is always an enormous temptation in all of life to diddle around making itsy-bitsy friends and meals and journeys for itsy-bitsy years on end. It is so self-concious, so apparently moral, simply to step aside from the gaps where the creeks and winds pour down, saying, I never merited this grace, quite rightly, and then to sulk along the rest of your days on the edge of rage. I won't have it. The world is wilder than that in all directions, more dangerous and bitter, more extravagant and bright. We are raising tomatoes, when we should be raising Cain, or Lazarus." (quote by author Annie Dillard)

This quote captures Boaz's dilemma when he wakes at midnight to find Ruth at his feet. Her appeal, "to spread the corner of your cloak over me" -- to redeem her--is a call for Boaz to step out of the "itsy-bitsy" into "the gaps where the creeks and winds pour down."

Boaz is invited by God to join in the joy, surprise, and goodness of grace--to receive from God what he has not been able to provide for himself. Because Boaz believes, he acts boldly. He knows God's character of mercy from his mother, Rahab. She who welcomed the spies and risked all for God was herself included in the people of Abraham's promise. Now that mercy is at hand in the form of Ruth. And he responds, "Don't be afraid. I will do for you all you ask."

With passion, cunning, and personal sacrifice Boaz willingly redeems Ruth. With the logic of love, his actions reveal the heart of his redeeming God. He surpasses the law. Rather than merely redeeming Ruth, Boaz marries her. He loves her by giving her more than she has asked for.

This story is of ordinary people who, by faith in God, act in extraordinary ways. There are no insignificant people in God's family. Ruth, the outsider, Naomi, the widow, and Boaz, the landlord, are not caught up in ritzy, career-enhancing enterprises--they are simply living their lives believing in the providence of God. But in this seemingly minor endeavor, they are shown to be heroes--they take the stage in this story and stagger us with their boldness, their honesty, and their faith.

The believer's life is not a life, necessarily, of the grand gesture, but of daily obedience. Yes, those mundane everyday choices to follow God's Word, to believe the truth, to stand with God's people: these are the places where greatness is forged. But obedience is not an end in itself; obedience is the pathway to glory. Here at the end of the book of Ruth, we find glory shining forth. Naomi is beaming with joy--a child of promise lies on her lap crying in testimony to the providence of a merciful God. Ruth belongs--the one who was brought to Bethlehem among the baggage is widely hailed as the epitome of virtue: the Proverbs 31:10-31 woman. Boaz savors life--by expending himself on behalf of others, satisfaction flowers.

Most of us live in places like Bethlehem, with folks like these. Seldom do we recognize that we walk among princes. When THE final story is sung, we'll gasp to find that the great battles were actually ones we witnessed, by people we knew. There or no insignificant moments, or people, in the story of God's family.

We can trust in this God who provides, who gives us more than we ever can ask or imagine, the God of tender mercies.