Naomi said to her
daughter-in-law, "May he be blessed of the Lord who has not withdrawn his
kindness to the living and to the dead." Again Naomi said to her,
"The man is our relative, he is one of our closest relatives." Then
Ruth the Moabitess said, "Furthermore, he said to me, 'You should stay
close to my servants until they have finished all my harvest.'" (NASB)
Kindness
is a compassionate act that shows consideration and
caring. Stephen Grellet has provided the world with a wonderful quote on
compassion: I expect to pass
through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any
kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not
defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again. That is what we
can all aim to do, and as Boaz was demonstrating, kindness extents to one
person through another. Naomi was being blessed by the kindness that Boaz was
showing to Ruth. Naomi was seeing that kindness as coming from the Lord, as a
kindness that to her and Ruth and to their deceased husbands.
We
naturally want to care for and be compassionate to our families—but sometimes
that is all the energy and resources we
have. Boaz was a rich man so he could afford to have his workers leave extra
grain in the field for Ruth to glean and to provide lunch for her as well as
his workers. He didn’t have to be so kind to the gleaners, the poor and
foreigners gathering grain in his fields. But he knew that Ruth was extended
family and he wanted to care for her and for Naomi, that made her special.
Do
you feel special knowing that you are part of someone’s family? Maybe your
earthly family is like Naomi’s, deceased, and so you feel abandoned and alone.
Forgotten by other extended family. If you know God, then you know that you are
part of His family, you’ve been adopted by Him. It tells us in Ephesians 1:5 that He
predestined us to adoption as sons
through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.
To be a child of the King, an adopted child of the King, makes you royalty! Now
you should feel special. I do. Knowing that God loves me enough to send His
only Son to die on the cross for my sins—and then adopts me into His family, I
feel doubly blessed. It is wonderful to feel so loved. Do you feel unworthy?
You are not. Just ask for forgiveness from your sins and join His wonderful
family. Sounds too easy doesn’t it? But it is that easy and God loves
everyone—so that means you and me, too. If you haven’t joined His family, what
is stopping you?
Heavenly Father, thank you for
loving me enough to send your Son, for forgiving me of my sins, and for
adopting me into your family. I feel so loved. I love You. Please show me how
to be compassionate kindness to others and love them as You do.
© 2012 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
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