Reason #439
We finished our Ruth study tonight. My heart always sinks a bit when things come to an end. I hate the endings of movies, books, TV series, vacations, seasons... basically anything good. Because you spend so much time immersing yourself in that one particular thing it's like it has almost become a part of your life. Some of these events allow you the opportunity to experience them again, but it's just never the same. Once you've read a book, you know how it ends. Once you've seen a movie, you are no longer hanging in suspense. Obviously, I'm not good with endings but, like the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.
We finished the last few verse in Ruth tonight and we reflected over what all we've learned the past 6 weeks. The more I studied Ruth's life, the more captivated I became. She wasn't just this woman who lived forever and a day ago. She was a real-live girl with a real-live story. This is history. This isn't fiction, and the amazing thing about Ruth is that her story is a part of mine.
I've blogged about Ruth a lot so you kind of already know some of the stuff I am going to say. Ruth was a widow and a foreigner. Well known as "Ruth the Moabitess," she faithfully, quietly, and humbly lived out her life in Bethlehem. I've put myself in Ruth's shoes for the past 6 weeks just trying to figure out how she felt, what she thought. Being a woman, I just have to think that Ruth probably believed a lot of lies about herself. Did she really see who she was, or did she, too, just see her self as "Ruth the Moabitess widow?" After all, that's what everyone called her. It wasn't necessarily incorrect. She was a widow and she was from Moab. But the name chased her through every chapter. And so this woman, one who was overlooked by most, probably underestimated by many, ignored by high society, and considered the lowest of low based on her title, came to be one of the greatest women in history.
And so through it all, Ruth the Moabitess widow became Ruth, one of God's chosen. Ruth, one of God's chosen became Ruth, the bride of Boaz. Ruth, the bride of Boaz became Ruth, the mother of Obed. Ruth, the mother of Obed became Ruth, the grandmother of Jesse. Ruth, the grandmother of Jesse became Ruth, the great-grandmother of King David. And Ruth, the great-grandmother of King David became Ruth, the great-great-great-great------ grandmother of Jesus the Messiah. Talk about a name change! A woman who was not consdiered important by the world's standards was greatly valuable to God. A woman who probably felt completely devastated, hopeless at times, confused, worried, broken, unwanted, worthless, and every other imaginable feeling was just trying to figure out who she was. Going from phase to phase, ending one chapter to start another, yet all along, through every change, Ruth was His child. A child of the Most High God, of Yahweh. A daughter of the King of Kings. That didn't change. And it doesn't for us either. Because we, like Ruth, are on a journey of twists and turns. Changes come more often than expected and sometimes we're just stuck trying to figure out who we are and why we're here. Often times being plagued with lies, we forget who we really are. But even if we have a momentary mental lapse, we can remember that we are always a child of God and that never changes. Our name might change, our status, our location, family, careers, title and image might, but we will always be His child.
I'm thankful for that. No matter how many changes I face, no matter what I'm feeling or how others look at me, I am His child. And when the lies come, trying to convince me I'm anyone else, I'm grateful that they are just those... lies. Because it's not who we were, it's who we are now. A new name, a new creation, a new purpose. And I'm just thankful that God doesn't use us based on anything else besides our hearts.
#439 - Because no matter what changes I go through, I will always be His child.
"But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” - 1 Samuel 16:7
We finished the last few verse in Ruth tonight and we reflected over what all we've learned the past 6 weeks. The more I studied Ruth's life, the more captivated I became. She wasn't just this woman who lived forever and a day ago. She was a real-live girl with a real-live story. This is history. This isn't fiction, and the amazing thing about Ruth is that her story is a part of mine.
I've blogged about Ruth a lot so you kind of already know some of the stuff I am going to say. Ruth was a widow and a foreigner. Well known as "Ruth the Moabitess," she faithfully, quietly, and humbly lived out her life in Bethlehem. I've put myself in Ruth's shoes for the past 6 weeks just trying to figure out how she felt, what she thought. Being a woman, I just have to think that Ruth probably believed a lot of lies about herself. Did she really see who she was, or did she, too, just see her self as "Ruth the Moabitess widow?" After all, that's what everyone called her. It wasn't necessarily incorrect. She was a widow and she was from Moab. But the name chased her through every chapter. And so this woman, one who was overlooked by most, probably underestimated by many, ignored by high society, and considered the lowest of low based on her title, came to be one of the greatest women in history.
And so through it all, Ruth the Moabitess widow became Ruth, one of God's chosen. Ruth, one of God's chosen became Ruth, the bride of Boaz. Ruth, the bride of Boaz became Ruth, the mother of Obed. Ruth, the mother of Obed became Ruth, the grandmother of Jesse. Ruth, the grandmother of Jesse became Ruth, the great-grandmother of King David. And Ruth, the great-grandmother of King David became Ruth, the great-great-great-great------ grandmother of Jesus the Messiah. Talk about a name change! A woman who was not consdiered important by the world's standards was greatly valuable to God. A woman who probably felt completely devastated, hopeless at times, confused, worried, broken, unwanted, worthless, and every other imaginable feeling was just trying to figure out who she was. Going from phase to phase, ending one chapter to start another, yet all along, through every change, Ruth was His child. A child of the Most High God, of Yahweh. A daughter of the King of Kings. That didn't change. And it doesn't for us either. Because we, like Ruth, are on a journey of twists and turns. Changes come more often than expected and sometimes we're just stuck trying to figure out who we are and why we're here. Often times being plagued with lies, we forget who we really are. But even if we have a momentary mental lapse, we can remember that we are always a child of God and that never changes. Our name might change, our status, our location, family, careers, title and image might, but we will always be His child.
I'm thankful for that. No matter how many changes I face, no matter what I'm feeling or how others look at me, I am His child. And when the lies come, trying to convince me I'm anyone else, I'm grateful that they are just those... lies. Because it's not who we were, it's who we are now. A new name, a new creation, a new purpose. And I'm just thankful that God doesn't use us based on anything else besides our hearts.
#439 - Because no matter what changes I go through, I will always be His child.
"But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” - 1 Samuel 16:7
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