And now my daughter, do not fear.
I will do for you all that you ask,
for all my fellow townsmen know
that you are a worthy woman.
Ruth 3:11
I’m not a Ruth kind of girl. Put me in her sandals – husband dead and the mother-in-law advising me to go back to my family – and I’d hightail it home in a heartbeat. No way would I follow a bitter, grouchy old woman into a foreign land. Especially not into a land where women look down their noses at me and say I’m unclean. No way would I follow Naomi’s advice and glean in a countryside populated with farm workers licking their chops at the sight of a foreign woman they considered fair game. No way would I sneak onto the threshing floor in the dead of night and then propose to a middle-aged guy who first saw me, sweaty and hot and having a really bad hair day, in the middle of a barley field. No way!
The main reason I’m usually not a Ruth kind of girl is this: my focus is more inward than outward. Self-analysis is my hobby. The hours fly by while I second guess what I’ve done in the past, calculate what will impress people in my present, and create a plan of action that matches my dreams for my future.
But Ruth focused on God’s will and the needs of others, not on herself. When her mother-in-law gave advice based on her past experience in a country and culture foreign to Ruth, she trusted and obeyed Naomi. Ruth recognized open doors in the present and bravely walked through them. She honored Naomi’s hopeful claim of a kinsman redeemer by seeking after him. Because Ruth’s focus was outward rather than inward, when Boaz entered the story of her life, she recognized him for who he was – her redeemer.
But as I frequently remind God, I can’t turn myself into a Ruth kind of girl. It’s scary, and I don’t do scary. It requires sacrifice, and I’m not into sacrifice. It takes effort, and I don’t like to sweat.
“You didn’t make Ruth do everything by herself,” I say. “You gave her a redeemer. I could use one, too.” No sooner are the words out of my mouth than my Redeemer shows up. Not big, buff Boaz.
But Jesus.
Jesus, the ransom for sinners.
Jesus, who redeemed me by his precious blood.
Jesus. With him, in him, because of his redemption, I can become the woman he created me to be. A woman who looks out and up, not in. A worthy woman. A woman of excellence. A Ruth kind of girl.
