Lessons From the Book of RuthSample

This week we will draw inspiration from one of my favourite women in the Bible. She’s only one of two women in the Bible to have a Bible book named after them, and she is one of the few women named in the genealogy of Jesus.

Did you guess it right??.... It’s Ruth!

Ruth is described as a woman of noble character (Ruth 3:11), and we can all learn a lot from her. Even us men…. Or maybe especially us men 🧐😜

Ruth’s story starts with that of her mother-in-law, Naomi. Naomi’s life is filled with setbacks. She’s forced to leave her country because of famine, she loses her husband and both her sons and reaches a point where she says:

“Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.” – Ruth 1:20-21

Naomi means ‘pleasant’ whereas Mara means ‘bitter’. Naomi’s life went from pleasant and full to bitter and empty.

Naomi’s pain of losing her sons resonates deeply with me. Even though, thankfully, we didn’t lose our son Zac when he fell sick, there are parts of him that are lost due to the damage his brain sustained. Just like Naomi, I will never see my son walk again or have kids of his own unless God miraculously intervenes. Loss and grief are bitter pills to swallow.

And yet, there is hope. Bitterness is not the end of Naomi’s story; it is not the end of our story with Zac, and it’s not the end of your story.

Through Boaz and Ruth, Naomi was blessed with a grandson, Obed, to carry on the legacy of her husband and sons. Not only that, Obed became King David's grandfather and one of Jesus's ancestors.

Naomi’s life went from:

• Despair to happiness
• Emptiness to fullness
• Destitution to security
• Bitterness to joy

Lesson #1 from the Book of Ruth is that there is hope, even in the most devastating times of our lives.

Or, as I like to say:

“Agar kahani adhuri hai, toh picture abhi baaki hai”

Hey! You are a Chamatkar

Cameron Mendes

P.S. The texts of this reading come from the daily email Chamatkar Every Day. If you would like to receive daily encouragement, I invite you to subscribe to Chamatkar Every Day.