I don’t know if there is a lovelier story in the Bible than the book of Ruth. Naomi had lost her husband and sons and was returning to her homeland a bitter woman. She encouraged her two daughter-in-laws to do the same with the hope of remarrying and finding a new beginning. Orpah did as she was told and returned to her people but Ruth refused to leave Naomi’s side.
Once in Bethlehem, Ruth gleaned fields for grain to sustain them and a landowner, Boaz, a distant relative of Naomi, was impressed by her kindness to her mother-in-law. He looked favorably upon Ruth and soon they were married and had a son.
The story of Ruth reminds me to dig deeply and attend to what is true and good. It’s not that Orpah did something wrong, it is that Ruth did something golden. She shared the burden of another, not because she was told to, but because of love and loyalty.
The book of Ruth is rich with acts of faithfulness and blessings, beginning with Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi. God had a great plan of love and redemption–Naomi and Ruth, Ruth’s son Obed, Obed’s son Jesse, Jesse’s son David–all the way to Jesus. Ruth could have never known that her name would someday be in the genealogy of the greatest redeemer of all.
At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me–a foreigner?” Ruth 2:10
Meeting God at the Park 