Lesson Four • We Are Family
Devotion #1: The Right Thing to Do
Joe Wilson
As I studied the book of Ruth, the overwhelming concept of loyalty just kept returning to me. Memories of a young boy who had absolute faith in his father, grandfather, and uncle to provide the right answers and the problems that seemed to be overwhelming and unsurmountable replayed in my mind. I never questioned the loyalty they had for what was in my best interest. I do however remember questioning, “Why does this have to be so hard?” The reply was normally, “Because it is the right thing to do.” It was a tough lesson to learn as a young boy and as an adult, it has not gotten much easier.
I can only imagine the thoughts going through Boaz’s mind when he could see his future so close he could reach out and touch it (literally). Ruth 4:1-4 records, “Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, ‘Turn aside, friend; sit down here.’ And he turned aside and sat down. And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, ‘Sit down here.’ So they sat down. Then he said to the redeemer, ‘Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.’ And he said, ‘I will redeem it.’”
The overwhelming anxiety Boaz must have felt as his fellow kinsmen made the statement, “I will redeem it.” At this point, he must have felt the future he wanted so badly being taken away from him. He may have thought, “Why does this have to be so hard.”
Ruth 4:5-6 continues, “Then Boaz said, ‘The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.’ Then the redeemer said, ‘I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.’”
The relief Boaz must have felt as the future he wanted so badly was about to become a reality. He was committed to being loyal to Ruth and Naomi. He had their best interest at heart.
We have a Heavenly Father that we can have absolute faith in. He will always have our best interest at heart. He will always have the right answers to life’s problems even though they may seem overwhelming and insurmountable. He is the epitome of loyalty. If you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, you can without a doubt have that childlike, absolute faith.
Just remember when He answers you and you have that thought or feeling in the pit of your stomach, “Why does this have to be so hard?” It is because it is the right thing to do.