Home > Work > The Gospel of Ruth: Loving God Enough to Break the Rules
1 " It doesn’t cause me to doubt God’s existence, but it does force me to admit there’s a lot about God I don’t understand. "
― , The Gospel of Ruth: Loving God Enough to Break the Rules
2 " First and foremost, God is the true hero of the story. No matter how captivating the other characters may be, our top priority is to discover what the Bible reveals about God. "
3 " Faith may want answers, but somehow it is able to survive without them. "
4 " Boaz is not diminished, marginalized, or feminized in the slightest by being outnumbered and influenced by Ruth and Naomi. As a matter of fact, he only grows stronger himself through his collaborations with them. "
5 " Officially, the New Testament church at an early stage took seriously their responsibility for widows who lacked family or other resources. The office of deacon was instituted initially to address this pressing need. "
6 " Not every woman has a Boaz in her life. Sometimes the male voices we hear are cautioning us to hold back instead of urging us to serve God wholeheartedly with them. Sometimes the cautioning voices we hear belong to other women. Sometimes those who have the power to facilitate our callings and clear a path for us set up roadblocks instead. Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz remind us powerfully that even in a dark era like the days of the judges, God always has his people and the Blessed Alliance is still alive and well. He is working in our hearts, summoning us to be strong and courageous like Ruth - to embrace and embody his gospel on our 'bit of earth. "
7 " When the average American says, “I’m starving,” it is a prelude to a midnight raid on a well-stocked refrigerator or a sudden trip to the nearest fast food restaurant. "
8 " Everything was going according to plan. What caught me off guard, however, was the fact that this eagerly awaited phase brought a sense of loss to me that triggered a whole new wave of soul searching I had not anticipated. "
9 " My mother used to tell me, “Things always look worse at night.” For the most part, I believe her. But some of the troubles that keep me from sleeping look just as bad in the morning. "
10 " God created his daughters to be image bearers, and that necessarily entails a call to leadership. Failure to see this creates problems that are often overlooked--the predicament and even the peril this creates for so many women, not to mention how this hampers the mission of the church. "
11 " When my personal world is falling apart and something or someone precious is at stake, it is frightening when God doesn't show up to hold things together, especially when I'm begging him to come....Christians are great pretenders. We tell ourselves it's not supposed to be this way for Christians, and so we resort to a cover-up....God won't and doesn't participate in this kind of masquerade. ....On every page of the Bible there is recognition that faith encounters troubles. We are broken ourselves and can't escape the brokenness and loss of our fallen world. ....An honest reading [of Job and Naomi's stories] reveals a God who doesn't explain himself. He didn't tell Job about his earlier conversation with Satan and he didn't give Naomi three good reasons why her world fell apart. Both sufferers went to their graves with their whys unanswered and the ache of their losses still intact. But somehow, because they met God in their pain, both also gained a deeper kind of trust in him that weathers adversity and refuses to let go of God. Their stories coax us to get down to the business of wrestling with God instead of chasing rainbows and to employ the same kind of brutal honesty that they did, if we dare. "
12 " Her loyalty to Yahweh prompts her to challenge the religious status quo and lead others into a whole new realm of allegiance to Yahweh that carries early hints of the teachings of Jesus. "
13 " We are not the masters of our own destinies. We are called to plan and strategize, to work and live active lives, to attempt things that are beyond us and tackle challenges that stretch us to the limit. Yet the outcome of our efforts, even our ability to exert ourselves, is always in God’s hands. "
14 " Sometimes following God means throwing caution to the wind. Sometimes caution is a symptom of faithlessness. "
15 " The letter of the law says, “Let them glean.” The spirit of the law says, “Feed them.” Two entirely different concepts. Ruth’s bold proposal exposes the difference. "
16 " submission is not an occasional event. It is a lifestyle. It isn’t a negative obligation on women, but the natural outworking of the gospel in every Christian’s life. Submission is an attribute of Jesus, so it ought to show up in all of his followers. "
17 " never talk about submission without talking about Jesus, and in particular of the cross. Jesus’ version of submission is thoughtful, strong, purposeful, and sacrificial. It involves the full and determined embrace of his Father’s will (which governs everything Jesus does)3 and the voluntary pouring out of his life to rescue a lost world.4 Submission is both. It is redemptive. It is the gospel. It is a way of showing Jesus to the world. "
18 " Formal religion only takes us so far — for it is both safe and doable. Love, however, knows no limits, takes costly risks, and looks for ways to give more. "
19 " God’s idea of a partnership places enormous responsibility on his image bearers and also means he wants us to participate in what he is doing here on earth and intends for us to do so, not as isolated individuals, but together. "
20 " Ruth’s story helped me see that neither I nor any of God’s daughters belong on the sidelines, while our brothers build his kingdom without us. He means for us to work alongside our brothers, and he is doing great things through his daughters, even though we, like Ruth and Naomi, may never live to see the full significance of our contributions. "
