Thanks, But No Thanks

“Then Boaz said, ‘On the day you buy the land from Naomi and from Ruth, the Moabitess, you acquire the dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.’ At this, the kinsman-redeemer said, ‘Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.’” Ruth 4:5-6

Leading up to this conversation, we see Boaz with extraordinary kindness living above the selfish norm. With this verse, in walks one of us…a little calculating and a lot of sneaky! I cannot wipe the smile off of my face as he describes to his competitor the prize. He has already stated to Ruth that her reputation is one of amazing character full of sacrifices for others which will be blessed by God. No doubt she is a beautiful woman who could have had her chance at anyone. Boaz stated, ‘You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor.’ Boaz jumped at the chance to marry Ruth if the family member closer to the deceased declined. With all of his adoration for Ruth, he sells her to the competitor as ‘Ruth, the Moabitess, who comes along with the package!’ I love it that he withholds the extraordinary and presents the ‘baggage.’

Thankfully, our kinsman-redeemer is not human. He has purchased our lives through His death on the cross. Unlike Ruth, we are no longer identified and defined by our past lives. Whatever baggage we bring when we join Him in life will be tossed aside. He will outfit us with a new life in Him and we will be free of our past identities because of His loving and undeserved forgiveness. Ruth came to Boaz in honesty, truth and hope. There was no manipulation or calculation on her part, but simply a desire to belong to Boaz and everything that may bring as a blessing to Naomi. Once again, the motivation of her heart was focused on benefiting someone else.

Many times, we look away from Christ when we are being called to some responsibility. We look upon the situation of what He is asking of us and reply, ‘I cannot…because I may endanger my own estate.’ We approach the invitations to partner with God and determine that it might cost us too much or take too much of our time.

We have been redeemed by Christ and must be open to the invitations to walk with Him in love, sacrifice and spiritual opportunities.