So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.
New International Version (NIV)
Are you getting bitter or better? My friend Jim Denison wrote this past week about a man named Masaji Ishikawa. He and his family moved back to North Korea in hope of a new life and found that life was taken away from them. In the end, he described his life this way, “"Now I have just one thing left. My only true possession. I'm sorry to say that it's bitterness. Bitterness at the cruelty of life."
The book of Ruth tells us that Naomi renamed herself, “Bitter.” Where do you go after the Judges? All was darkness as all the news was bad all the time. People were starving so one man Elimelech left the promised land, took his wife and sons and moved to Moab. There he died. His sons married and then they died. His wife Naomi decided to go home. One daughter in law, Ruth went with her.
Like Ruth’s love for Naomi, God’s love for us will not let us go. They arrived in Bethlehem right on time as the harvest began. Life began to look up for them again as they made it home. Even when life goes awry, we hold on to hope. As Emily Dickinson put it, “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all!”
Pray with me:
Father, if there is a seed of bitterness in any of us today please remove it. Remind us again that the story of our lives is finally caught up in your great story of redemption. Remind us again that your love will not let us go. Fill us with undying hope. Through Christ we pray. Amen.
This year we focus our Every Day with Jesus readings on Jesus’ story. With references to Tallowood's Read Through the Bible in 2018 daily reading plan, let's focus our undivided attention on Jesus and follow where he lead. He will not fail. Neither will we! Joyfully, Duane
Copyright 2018. All Rights Reserved.
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