Tenacious Love is Kind
Kindness is becoming a quaint, old-fashioned word. So when we see it, we are often shocked by the power of it. There is still something in the human soul that says of kindness, “This is the way people ought to treat each other.” Ruth is showing kindness to her mother-in-law, Naomi. Will someone show kindness to Ruth? Why?
Ruth 2
Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.” Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” Ruth 2:1-2
“When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:9-10
God can use our acts of courageous kindness to work towards His kingdom purposes.
So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek. Ruth 2:3
Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!” “The Lord bless you!” they answered. Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?” The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.” Ruth 2:4-7
So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter…” Ruth 2:8A
So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.” At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?” Ruth 2:8-10
“You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.” Ruth 2:13B
Never underestimate the power of showing tangible kindness towards someone.
Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!” Ruth 2:19A
“The Lord bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers.” Ruth 2:20