Ruth

This week I'm getting back in the swing of things with preaching and teaching. I've had the past couple weeks off from teaching Sunday School (intern!) and since my intern has now become our candidate for Pastor of Student Ministries, he was preaching last Sunday. So this is the first week I've had to follow my custom of prepping both a Sunday School lesson and a sermon in about a month. This week we're doing the book of Ruth in Sunday School and I'm really looking forward to it.

One of the things I love about Ruth is that even though God is actually mentioned very little in the story, you can see His hands working "behind the scenes." Ruth just happens to have her circumstances work out so she winds up working for, then meeting, and then marrying her kinsman-redeemer Boaz. But really what I love about the story is that it's not so much about Ruth herself as it is about Naomi ("my pleasantness") returns to Israel calling herself Mara ("bitter") for all that has happened to her, but God blesses and cares for her anyway. God even gives her a son through Ruth, and places her in the lineage of David and Jesus the Messiah. What's amazing to me is how God is still faithful to care for his people even when they are struggling with trusting Him. A humbling reminder for me...