That's Messed Up! Devotions From Time Of GraceSample

Why Ruth should be your favorite book of the Bible 

I dare you to read Judges chapters 19-21. Go ahead; I’ll wait. . . . Did you read it? Tell me that isn’t the most messed up thing you’ve ever read in Scripture. A rape-loving city. A calloused man who hacks up his former lover into pieces. Kidnapping worshipers on the way to church. Seriously . . . that’s messed up.

Which is why Ruth should be your favorite book of the Bible. Despite the absolute horror of those pages, the Bible goes on. Instead of ending the human experiment after Judges, God keeps working. The fact that there’s a Ruth is proof that God is way more forgiving than we first believed. “In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1) should be words that make you stand up and cheer.

Because Ruth’s sheer existence means your mess won’t stop your Savior. God is so patient, so merciful, so forgiving that there is another page to your story. Maybe you’ve been trying to do things your way. Maybe you’ve justified your sharp, critical tongue and excused your meanness for decades. But it’s not too late. You can cry out to Jesus. You can find forgiveness in His death and resurrection. You might assume God can’t clean up your mess, but the broom of the cross is as wide as the grace of God is deep.

You are not beyond saving. Ruth is the proof.

Sign up for more devotions like this!