Our words, deeds and actions can change lives
Ruth 4:13
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came together, the Lord made her conceive, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-inlaw who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse.
17 The women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Perseverance and a call to witness through our words, deeds and actions, can change lives. It did for Ruth, Naomi and Boaz. Today I want to read to you about how perseverance and a willingness to others about Jesus can change lives.
Naomi’s journey of faith has now come full circle. She went from not trusting God to being bitter about God and her place in life. And then, when God worked miracles in her life, she learned that sometimes real faith has to go through the threshing room floor or the refiner’s fire. Life isn’t easy. That is a theme of this book. Life is never easy. But, with God, life is always glorious.
In the Book of Ruth, we see the full meaning of life in the names of the characters. Naomi means “pleasantness”. She wanted a pleasant life. One free of hardship and pain. But when hardship and pain came knocking, she went from being pleasant to being bitter.
The new name she picked for herself was Mara. It literally means bitter or in some cases, mad at God.
But in the end, God worked miracles in Naomi’s life and in the last few verses we see what happens when we understand that God has good plans for us, not a life of bitterness and pain.
Ruth has married Boaz and now they have a son. All the women in the town gathered together and they called Naomi by her real name. Pleasantness. Naomi.
But even more so. They gave Naomi’s grandson a name. That name is Obed. It means, “worship God.”
Naomi wasn’t really a blood relative of Obed. But that doesn’t mean that Obed wasn’t God’s gift to her. The book of Ruth is all about a journey of faith. From spiritual famine to withdrawing from God because of life’s circumstances to being restored because of God’s never ending grace.
Oh, it’s a love story too. But in the end, it’s a love story about God’s undying love for us.
Let’s pray. Gracious Lord. Thank you so much for this life that you’ve given to us. Thank you for our church and community and country. We pray that you will always be with us. Guide us, and protect us. And help us to always have worship in our souls. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.