Renew Your Mind

Ruth is one of my favourite books of the bible. Partly, of course, because it is all about women. But partly because it is a short, simple story full of ordinary people coping with the sadnesses that their lives bring them. It is a story of such truth and honesty, that it does not need the theological density of Romans, the poetry and beauty of Psalms or the dazzling apocalyptic imagery of Revelation to speak of God- instead, it speaks His name and His character in the actions and character of His people. It is a story about seed-time, and harvest; travelling, and finding a home; sons and daughters; emptiness and fullness. It might be a particularly important story to tell at this point in history, with its themes of immigration, of migrant workers, of a community who accepts and provides for a foreigner among them. This weekend, I encourage you to find some time to read the book of Ruth. It is a short story, only 4 chapters long, which can be read in less than half an hour. Bu...

The Bible is a great treasure of stories: from the dramatic ups and downs in the life of the nation of Israel as they journey out of Eden, into Egypt and to the Promised Land; to the small, homely stories of one person and how they travelled on the journey that unfurled for them. The story of Ruth is one of these- like a burnished miniature, her story sits quietly between the grander, more important stories of Judges and Kings. There would be so many reasons to overlook the story of Ruth- she was a woman, which in the world of the Old Testament would be reason enough. She was a widow, and she had no children, which meant that in the economy of the day she was worth nothing. And she was not even an Israelite- she was from the country of Moab. And yet her story is written in the pages of God's book. Ruth has a journey to make, and her journey leads her to meet this God. He does not see people as we do- He does not give them value according to their gender, their race or their sta...