Romance At The Threshing Floor ♡♡♡

 

"Then he said, "May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made your last kindness better than the first; for you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. Now my daughter do not be afraid I will do for you whatever you ask, since all the people in the city know you are a woman of excellence" - Ruth 3:10-11 AMP

In a very odd way, I like romance. But not all that mushy stuff tehee. I like the unpredictable, sacrificial unconventional type of romance. Ruth and Boaz's story is indicative of that kind. It's not about gifts on valentines day or petals on the floor, bed as you walk into the room celebrating an anniversary. Not that there is anything wrong with these things, but deeper is what the story of Ruth & Boaz teaches us. I mean, foreign loyal girl, leaves everything she's ever known behind, including her father and her mother. She is the talk of the town for her relentless loyalty to her mother Inlaw, especially in this very difficult season of thier lives. They have just returned from a super difficult life, at the beginning of the barley harvest. Boaz a wealthy landowner of Bethlehem in Judea, stumbles on this hand maiden in his field. Of course he had also heard about her loyalty, and consequently she found favor before his sight. Boaz won't take advantage of his position, he would instead be kind to Ruth. He would show her his favor, but he would let Ruth choose him by herself. Sound familiar? This is a beautiful picture of how God also expresses his love towards us. How he woos us to himself. A picture of how God works out our redemption. Delicate and intentional but never forceful.

"So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-Inlaw had told her. When Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was happy, he went to lie down at the end of the stack of grain. Then Ruth came secretly and uncovered his feet and lay down" - Ruth 3:6-7

Ruth chooses Boaz, just like you and I are presented with the opportunity to choose God everyday. We get to choose him in the secret places of our lives. Ruth laying down at the feet of Boaz was indicative of her submission to him. In the same way, God will not force himself on us, but will always let us choose. "...for you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich..." Ruth 3:10. Insert here, everything else outside of God that is so tempting. Insert here, the other life that you could be living right now, in place of following and trusting God completely. You see, Ruth could have opted out for a much younger guy. A lot of people knew her. I don't doubt that she had other options. However, Ruth was a woman of purpose and we can learn this from her life too. It also occurred to me that Naomi could have made their relationship happen by herself, but everything flowed as should in God's time. Ruth chose. In the same way, we must give others the liberty to choose God.

Ruth's story is a story of grace. It is intriguing because God will bypass all of her limitations, her foreign status and lead her into a beautiful destiny. Isn't that what God does for us too? Ruth received blessings from God that she did not merit. Ruth's audacious love cared for nothing that didn't matter. Ya, she chose her path "with her full chest" :). She received God's blessings despite her status of being a gentile woman. It's the same for us today. Grace grace grace!!!! - Ruth's name meant grace.

                "You must love in such a way that the person you love feels free" - Anon.

God's love for us is about freedom and never about control. God would always allow us choose him and not him dragging us by the hair. God keeps drawing us to himself, by his loving kindness, by his favor, by his blessings. And so like Ruth, may we allow ourselves to be drawn continually, to the depths and heights of God's love. Deeper into him each day.  May we wonder into God's great plans, as we lay down secretly all there is to lay down, at the threshing floor. At the very secret place where God knows us wholly and completely. Something beautifully significant and special happened that day at the threshing floor. Do you remember your own time when you made a decision for God? And if you haven't explored this, you can too. One step at a time, be drawn to the one who created you. To the one who knows you all through and through.

Anyone ready for Grow-mance? tehee - You can start from the book of Genesis. A chapter a day will draw you close. One day at a time :)

Love

Shay