Finding Forever

The world can be unsteady, unsafe, and unfulfilling, but life made new with Jesus is steadfast, secure, and lasting. 

“Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property…Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife…and she gave birth to a son. The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age…Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.” Ruth 4:9-10, 13-17 

God can do more in one day than any of us could do in a lifetime. In one day, God redeems Ruth. In one day, He takes her from foreigner, poor, and a servant to spouse of Boaz with countless resources. In one day, she goes from broken to beautiful. In one day, she goes from beyond hope to born again because she is redeemed by her guardian redeemer. In one day, she goes from left out, to woman whose legacy will never be forgotten. 

Boaz steps in, pays the cost, and restores what was lost. This was not just rescue, but restoration of family, name, and future. What once seemed like an ending becomes the beginning of a story far bigger than she could see. This is how God works. 

Imagine what God will do for you. Ruth’s redeeming characteristic was her faithfulness. She was faithful to Naomi when no one else was, and in turn God faithfully redeemed and restored her. Ruth reflected God because God is always faithful. How will you reflect God today? 

“You are my God; have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long. You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. Hear my prayer, Lord; listen to my cry for mercy. All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name. For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God. Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths…you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. Give me a sign of your goodness” Psalms 86:2-17

Can you relate to the cry for help? Can you relate to needing God to step in and show you a sign? What are you praying for? Who are you praying for? Aseph chose to speak about the faithfulness of God. He sang of how God is trustworthy, steadfast, and enduring. His eyes were on God rather than the cause of his pain. Where are your eyes?

In a world that feels like transitory, He is not. He is consistent, attentive, and near. He does not dismiss the brokenness of life; He meets it with mercy. He meets sin with grace. He meets mourning with comfort. He needs pain with peace. He needs to spare with hope. Where do you need to meet you today? What mercy do you need from him? His mercies are new every day. 

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” Ecclesiastes 1:2-14

The key word here is the Hebrew word, hevel, that can be translated meaningless. It means vapor, breath, or mist. More accurately refers to something temporary or elusive. Consider the contrast between things that are lasting and things that are transitory. Think about how fads come and go in our culture, and how quickly popular opinion can change. 

Ecclesiastes opens with an honest tension we all feel but rarely articulate. Life moves in seasons. Effort does not always produce lasting fruit. What we build fades, what we chase slips through our hands. It is the ache of a life lived without something eternal anchoring it. Have you felt that tension? 

Ecclesiastes is not saying life has no value. It is saying life cannot be secured or made lasting under the sun. In reflecting on this, Solomon realizes his need for something lasting that satisfies his soul. Our reflections should re-orient our priorities. Are you placing the needs of your soul as a priority for how you live? Your soul needs Jesus. 

“Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.” The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house…and I will give you a place among these…‘Listen…I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.” Zechariah 3:1, 3-8

Zechariah spoke of what God does with each of us. He talked of the enemy, Satan, who points in accusing finger because of our sin. Rather than condemning us, He removes our sin, he takes off our filthy clothes, and he replaces them with the finest clothes. What we cannot cleanse, God removes. What we cannot earn, God provides. God is faithful, even when we have been unfaithful. 

Our identity is no longer defined by failure, but by what God has declared and done. He establishes our value and gives us a new calling. He gets to say who we are, no one else. Other people have probably tried to clothe you with filthy words, but Jesus speaks the final word over you. He says you are mine. We are clothed in Chris our salvation. Our failures turn into a hope and a future found in Christ as we learn the way of faithfulness. 

The word of God spoke of a branch. It’s an amazing connection to Ruth where Ruth’s son Obed is the grandfather of King David.  It is this branch or line of which Jesus is born. Not only did God redeem Ruth, but she’s the great grandmother of David.  A forgotten foreigner stepped in through her faithfulness to become one of the most important people in the Bible as her loving legacy leads to Jesus. The most enduring thing that comes from our lives is the love we create in this world. 

“It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God. Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God.” 

3 John 1:3-6, 11

There is a quiet strength demonstrated in the life of the friend. Following Jesus is often marked more by a steady direction than a quick dash. John praises the life of love for all people. Generosity, faithfulness, and love flow naturally when our lives are a fountain that overflow God’s faithful, compassionate, and abounding love. 

Remember how desperate things were for Naomi and Ruth after they had lost everything. They had no idea the plans God had for them. In that moment, they could have panicked and been afraid. That’s our natural reaction to the pressures of life and how we can feel when we’ve been chasing after the ways of the world. God has a better plan. 

He moves us from striving to rest, from accusation to identity, from emptiness to purpose. Truth reminds us that what feels fleeting does not have to remain that way. When life is anchored in God’s steadfast love, cleansed by His grace, redeemed through His provision, and lived in His truth, it becomes something entirely different. It becomes the eternal, abundant life that Jesus promised us.  

Let us embrace the heart of David, whose great grandma was Ruth, and pray that we live with undivided hearts so that our lives will reflect Jesus who is worthy of all our praise. Ruth lived anything but an ordinary life. As she trusted God, he created a legacy of love that is still multiplying through you and me. Imagine what he wants to do with you.