Ruthless

Ruth (the whole thing). What an amazing oasis of gospel-of Jesus hearted love-smack dab in the middle of the Old Testament. Don't know about you, but I sure needed it. After all of the bloody mayhem of the conquest (?) of the Promiseland, my spirit was really wanting to bail on the Old Testament. Talk about a bloody religion! Yes, I sensed a whole lot of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit up until the conquest, but all the blood and guts of that and blaming God for it almost caused me to lose heart with it. I'm still not sure what all that has to teach us except how much God must love us to put up with our foolishness, how far off track we can go and still be religious, how profoundly and clearly it speaks to the need of a flesh and blood Savior. Come to think of it that is a whale of a lot to learn. But thank the dear Lord for Ruth. It's a simple story, but one infused with deep love-with all of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and in the surprise at the end (she was David's great grandmother) makes a turn toward Bethlehem (in more ways than one). It is enough-brief as it it-to keep me plodding through the old stuff looking for flashes of, drinks of, resonance with the Spirit that is surely there, though sometimes deeply and sometimes only shallowly obscured by human ignorance and sin. Without Ruth the Old Testament would be far more ruthless. ;>)