Ruth - Part 2

Devotion for the week...

Today I'm sharing the second in a two-part look at Ruth that was first shared as part of the 2023 Women of Wisdom QAL. Ruth has a four-chapter book named after her in the Bible, so I’ll have to do a lot of summarizing, even though we’re not going to be following all of her story. If you do want to read the whole story for yourself, you can do that here. You can also read part one of this devotion here.

When we left her last week, Ruth was heading off to find a barley field where she could follow behind the harvesters and gather the bits of barley they left behind. God had made provision for the poor and the foreigner living among the Israelites, by commanding that the harvesters would always leave some behind to be gathered by those who had no other means of supporting themselves. Ruth, who was a poor foreigner, “found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz, the relative of her father-in-law, Elimelech” (Ruth 2:3).

As a foreign woman, Ruth probably stood out among those who were working the field, and she was noticed by Boaz, the owner of the field, when he came to see how the harvest was going. "Boaz asked his foreman, “Who is that young woman over there? Who does she belong to?” (v. 5). The foreman not only knew who Boaz meant, but he knew what Ruth had been doing all day. "She is the young woman from Moab who came back with Naomi. She asked me this morning if she could gather grain behind the harvesters. She has been hard at work ever since, except for a few minutes’ rest in the shelter.” (vv. 6-7) The overseer had noticed that Ruth was working hard, spending hours in the field with only a short break and, since he mentioned it to Boaz, I take it he was impressed by her work ethic. Notice, too, that the foreman said she was the young woman who arrived in town with Naomi. I imagine they were the talk of the town, especially this young Moabite woman who showed such devotion to her mother-in-law.

But Ruth wasn't trying to be noticed. She didn't leave Moab with Naomi to be noticed. She did what she thought was right. She wasn't gleaning in the field in an attempt to be noticed. She just did what needed to be done to get food for their table. She probably didn't think she was doing anything special, or doing anything that others wouldn't also be doing if they were in her place.

The fact of the matter is, we are all being noticed by someone. It’s human nature to watch the people around us, to see how they go about their daily lives. Seven or eight years ago, I started babysitting a little boy from a family I hadn't met before I started babysitting him. One day I went to the grocery store and the cashier told me the boy's grandmother had asked her if she knew me, because the grandmother didn't and wondered what sort of person I was. I had never before thought about my grocery shopping being something that people would observe, but it is. Because we live in a small town, this cashier has been seeing me for years, popping into the store with my own boys or some of the other kids I've looked after, chatting with her, keeping the kids from demolishing the store displays and that sort of thing. She could assure this grandmother that the kids in my care are happy with me and that, in her words, "you have no worries with Leanne." That report brightened my day, but I wasn't doing anything while in the store to try to be noticed as a competent caregiver. I was just doing my usual thing.

All of which begs one simple question: for what are we noticed? Jesus told His followers, "You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." (Matthew 5:14-16). 

Whenever I have heard or read this verse I have heard 'good deeds' and imagined it meaning those things we do specifically to be nice to others, but the word translated as 'deeds', ergon, actually means "anything done or to be done; a deed, work, action."

Maybe Jesus wasn't only referring to special kindnesses, but to all the good things we do in the run of our daily lives. All the things that get noticed by others and make them see us in a positive light will bring glory to God. All the things that get noticed in a negative way will not.

As we go about our daily lives, just doing what needs to be done, how do people see us? I'm not suggesting we should put on an act when we're out in public, trying to fool people into thinking we're something we're not (remember Sapphira?). But rather, do our actions and our attitude line up with what we say we believe? Are we exhibiting the fruit of the spirit? "The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23). Like Ruth, are we noticed for those things?

And if we aren't being noticed for these things, is that a problem?