Ruth 4:1‭-‬4 AMPC‬ "Then Boaz went up to the city's gate and sat down there, and behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz had spoken came by. He said to him, Ho! Turn aside and sit down here. So, he turned aside and sat down. And Boaz took ten men of the elders of the city and said, Sit down here. And they sat down. And he said to the kinsman, Naomi, who has returned from the country of Moab, has sold the parcel of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. And I thought to let you hear of it, saying, Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then say so, that I may know; for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I am [next of kin] after you. And he said, I will redeem it."

After his conversation with Ruth Boaz did not delay. He was determined to keep his promise to clarify the matter concerning Ruth. Even though some voices might have spoken to him trying to prevent him from doing the right thing, he just went ahead and found a way to meet the relative who had the right to redeem Ruth, simply because he was convinced by the law of God Almighty that it was the right thing to do. Nobody could have prevented him from doing the right thing. Indeed, it is a sin to know how to do what is right and not do it. (James 4:17) Righteousness and truth were embedded in him and were his lifestyle because he walked with God, so there is no way he would have allowed himself to do otherwise. He was rooted and grounded in righteousness. Even though he knew that talking with this man meant that he could lose Ruth forever, he still acted in faith and in obedience to God's command.

This is the character of a person who has completely surrendered his life to God's guidance because he understands that God is his greatest reward ever. He knew that whatever the outcome of the matter was it would be for a good purpose. He knew that he was not going to be a loser because he was doing the right thing. He knew by faith that even if he had to lose Ruth God would reward him here on earth and also in heaven in a greater measure because we don't serve God to be losers. He is a Winner even before time began and as we put our trust in Him and follow Him we are in the winning team!

Maybe the devil tried to tell him that he can just hide that truth about Naomi and Ruth and just go ahead and marry the young widow. But he was very well aware of the fact that by so doing he would lose his integrity, people's trust and Gods favour upon his life. He knew that doing otherwise would make him a liar and a thief. If he was desiring to take Ruth as his wife it was not out of covetousness. His love for her was so genuine that it was ready to give her away so that she could obtain whatsoever she rightly deserved. And this is true love. It does not seek it's own interest but first of all the interest of the others, even if it has to suffer for doing so. (1 Corinthians 13:7-14; Philippians 2:14).

This is true love. This is God's kind of love that we are called to exercise as children of God. This is what defines us as children of God and as children of Love: by this people know that we are Jesus's disciples if we have this kind of love one for another. This is sacrificial love, the kind of love that brought Jesus to the cross to die for people like you and I who did not deserve it at all. He is pure but He was willing to take our transgressions and drink the filthy cup of our iniquities. He became poor and abased himself so that we may have life and have it in abundance. What a wonderful God we serve. (To be continued) md