Vision That Improves with Age

Read Ruth 1:1–4:22

13. So Boaz took Ruth into his home, and she became his wife. . . . The Lord enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son.
14. Then the women of the town said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has now provided a redeemer for your family! May this child be famous in Israel.
15. May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age. For he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons!”
16. Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast. And she cared for him as if he were her own.
17. The neighbor women said, “Now at last Naomi has a son again!” And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David. Ruth 4:13-17

When you’re immersed in a problem, it can be difficult to see exactly what to do. But afterward, when you look back on the situation, you can see it all perfectly, and the solution seems obvious. You can see what you couldn’t see before. As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20.

The book of Ruth has that rare quality of showing us how the past has affected today. How could Naomi have seen, while feeling the pain of her bitter losses, that her future would hold more than ten times the good? She couldn’t—she could only trust God—and that’s a crucial lesson to learn.

You will find many other lessons in this book: selflessness; praying honestly; gaining a good reputation (Ruth knows the secret); taking advice; and trusting God to bring good out of tragedy.

To some people, the book of Ruth appears to be little more than a nice story about a fortunate young woman. This small book, however, records the birth of a man named Obed (Ruth 4:16-17). His birth and the other events recorded in Ruth were part of God’s preparation for the births of David and Jesus. Ruth could not have guessed that her actions would lead to such a glorious future event—just as we, today, have no idea how our lives will affect others years from now.

It’s easy to make decisions based totally on our present, limited perspective. Instead, we should consider God’s eternal values as we make our choices. Although Ruth’s perspective was limited, she faithfully obeyed God—and she left a significant legacy.

Live in faithfulness to God, knowing that the significance of your life will extend beyond your lifetime. God’s rewards will outweigh any sacrifice you make.