Human Response 401: Faith, Faithfulness, and Kindness

Ruth 3:10 And he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter; for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followest not young men, whether rich or poor.

The story of Ruth shows the fruit of the Spirit in faithful believers: Naomi’s faith, Ruth’s faithfulness, and Boaz’ kindness. The whole story of Ruth reveals the providence of God and how He accomplishes His purpose through the instruments of human beings, who become faithful and kind through faith in the promise. God blessed Naomi and Ruth by providentially providing a kinsman redeemer with the result that the seed of Ruth would bear David and Jesus. This Plan of a Savior was worked out through the faith, faithfulness, and kindness of the actors through whom the Spirit worked His will. His will is that “all may be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.”

The Lord worked in Ruth the faith to believe and serve a foreign god, who was the only true God. Ruth could not know that her faithfulness would bear such fruit as the Savior of the world, but her choices produced an eternal destiny far beyond her imagination. We also do not know the future, and even eternal, consequences of our present choices and decisions when led by the Spirit.

The nearest relative of a deceased man could marry the widow and lift her out of a life of poverty, but he could choose not to. However, Boaz, out of love and kindness, chose to redeem Ruth (and also blessed Naomi). Jesus Christ is our family redeemer, who chose out of love to come earth to redeem us from sin, poverty, and hopelessness, and to purchase us with His blood. Jesus in this way married us to be His own possession, bring us into God’s family, and grace us with an eternal inheritance. We are so grateful that we will love Him forever.