A PROMISE KEPT

December 5, 2011

And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” Ruth2:2

Picture Ruth. I image she slipped out of the house and latched the door, careful not to wake Naomi. The first rays of sunshine were barely spilling out over the horizon as Ruth set out for the fields. She paused for a moment, took a deep breath to inhale the fragrance of the harvest, and hurried on.

As widows, Ruth and Naomi could do little to put food on the table. Yet in God’s providence, the Mosaic Law made provisions for women such as these (Lev. 19:9 – 10). During the harvest, as the reapers gathered grain, they obeyed God’s command to leave on the ground the sheaves that fell from the bundles. God’s law instructed that the owner of a field to permit the widowed and poor of Israel to glean the fields for sheaves left behind.

From morning until evening Ruth diligently worked under the scorching sun, picking up the sheaves. The hard work taxed her, but she had made a promise. She would always walk alongside Naomi. And when she realized that she could meet one of Naomi’s most basic needs, she jumped at the opportunity.  

The same call to faithfulness confronts each of us daily. The monumental needs that surround us can overwhelm us. But if we will pause, we become aware of the simple needs that we can meet—a hug around the neck, a kind word spoken to the store clerk, or a project completed on time. Regardless of our circumstances or limited resources, each of us can demonstrate faithfulness and kindness to others in the daily grind.

What one thing can we do to be faithful today?

 

by: Amanda DeWitt