One of my favourite characters in the Bible is Ruth. She is such a fascinating woman. Her whole world falls apart around her very quickly: her father-in-law dies, her husband dies, the brother-in-law dies, and then her mother-in-law decides she is going back the land she came from (leaving Moab to go to Bethlehem). For Ruth, she as a choice: go with her mother-in-law and become a racial and religious foreigner or return to her own family where she would be viewed as a burden to her parents and be a second-class citizen. Both options leave Ruth in a deeply vulnerable position. After all, who wants to be the outsider and who wants to be a burden? Usually people strive for the opposite: inclusion and self-sufficiency. Actually we love these things: to be included and to be self-sufficient—productive, independent and normal. Comfortable.

But nothing about Ruth’s options or choice is comfortable. Either way, she is very much at a loss. Even more, when she arrives in Bethlehem, she and her mother-in-law Naomi will have so little that they will acquire food by gleaning from fields—a fate and kindness created by the Jewish law for the very poor. Not only is she an outsider but she is entirely dependent on the kindness of others to survive. Ruth is noticed by a farmer, Boaz, who it turns out is related to Naomi’s family. He, by law, as an obligation to redeem his fellow family members and purchase their land and in doing so, purchases Ruth as wife. However, there is one family member closer. When Boaz determines how to act, he knows that he must offer first rights of refusal to the more prominent family member. But this man does not want Ruth, foreigner and widow, as a wife. So he relinquishes his rights and allows Boaz to redeem the family. The transaction is completed and Ruth and Naomi are restored to their former status. Ruth produces a son, from whom the great king David and Jesus descend. It is a story with a satisfying ending.

But where is God in all of this? He has only been mentioned in passing. Ruth claims she will have Naomi’s God be her God. Albeit a big claim, we still do not see the work of God throughout the text—he does not intervene, no angels arrive, no signs are given. The entire narrative runs on the assumption of the sheer faith of the individuals. We know they believe in the God of Israel, we know they are Israelite. We see them being governed and actively living out the Law of God found in the Torah (first five books of the Old Testament). But God isn’t really an actor in this story—not a named character. If you were casting Ruth has a play, you would not have to cast anyone in the role of God.

And yet God is one of the most fundamental parts of this story. We see His law being used and used well, used properly…being used to redeem people. We see Boaz go above a beyond the call of the law to the heart of it—he seeks to provide kindness and good news to this young widow even in her most vulnerable position. God is working through Boaz, through Ruth, through Naomi all throughout the story, even if he is not named. Naomi’s faith was enough to convince Ruth that this God was worth following and therefore Naomi was worth following, even into destitution. Ruth’s perseverance and trust that they would be provided for, that her mother-in-law’s people would redeem them, that she could follow this God all indicate a faith and trust in a living, active God. Finally Boaz’s extreme kindness to a poor widow and a foreign woman are the incarnation of God working to provide for those he loves so dearly: the poor, the lost, the broken. God is redeeming through his people: through acts of kindness and generosity. We can have a whole story where God is incarnate and not explicit because of the power of the witness of incarnational living. Boaz’s actions are enough, Ruth’s faith is sufficient to tell the story without us being reminded God is at work: because Naomi, Ruth and Boaz know and their trust transfers to us.

So when it feels like living the gospel isn’t enough, it is. When it feels like you need God to be more obvious and forthcoming, remember he might be working for you through you neighbour. Your heart and your efforts are telling a story worthy of remembering. Please tell it—so that it cannot be forgotten. Boaz and Ruth would hardly have been able to conceive where their faith led. Trust that yours is also leading to see the Kingdom come.

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