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Day 23: The Redeemer Who Gives More Than Enough
Scripture:
When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” 17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.
Ruth: 2:15-17
Many of us don’t have a lot of extra resources to be used however we want. We don’t have the money to buy yachts or magnificent homes. We get used to making it on what we have. The same is true when life gets hard. When hard times go on for a while, we slowly stop expecting good things. What we expect is actually the opposite. That we will hear the bad news hoping not to hear. That the bottom is going to drop out like we didn’t want it to. We sort of get used to living on just enough, especially spiritually.
But we don’t have a stingy redeemer. We’ve seen that as we’ve made our way through these weeks. We have a redeemer who is glad to lavish His grace upon us. And this is where we find ourselves in our story today. It would’ve been easy for Ruth to expect nothing more than the bare minimum. But she is going to see that the Lord goes far beyond what we can even think or imagine.
Boaz sees Ruth get up from her meal and instructs the workers himself to do what would be highly unusual. He gives Ruth access to the grain between the piles of already harvested grain. Normally gleaners would’ve been prohibited from doing this because the owners of the field wanted to lose as little grain as possible. By allowing these gleaners to come too close to their harvest piles, they risk losing more of their grain than they wanted.
Boaz even goes a step further. He tells his workers not to correct or chastise Ruth for doing this. He goes beyond what even the law called for. But he’s still not done. Just when we think that he goes over and above what is expected, he goes a step further. He even tells his workers to intentionally drop grain to ensure that Ruth will have plenty. What kind of person is this, who would go to such gracious lengths to provide for the poor?
What we see in Boaz is someone modeling for us the way that God cares for us. Boaz gives generously from what he has to ensure that Ruth does not go hungry. But what we see in Jesus is something even better. You see, Jesus does not give minimal grace. He gives grace that abounds in every way. He gives grace that overflows above our every need.
Some of you have stopped expecting God to be generous. You’ve learned to brace for disappointment. You’ve convinced yourself His grace is “just enough to scrape by." You expect only bills, not provision. You brace for another overdraft, another unexpected expense, another month of scraping by. In your marriage, you expect only survival, not joy. You brace for another argument, another cold silence, another unmet need.
Or in your parenting, you expect only exhaustion, not delight. You brace for another sleepless night, another failure, another fear about your child’s future. What about your health? You expect only decline, not healing. You brace for another test result, another ache, another reminder of weakness. And in faith you expect only dryness, not fullness. You brace for another prayer that feels unanswered, another Sunday that feels flat, another Bible reading that feels empty. Like Naomi, you’ve come to expect scraps. But the Redeemer delights to give more than enough.
While Boaz is good, Jesus is even better. Boaz gave Ruth grain while Jesus gives His people Himself. Jesus gives overflowing grace, not minimal mercy. Boaz gave Ruth more than she could gather, but Jesus gives you more grace than you could ever exhaust. Jesus gives from His own fullness, not from His leftovers. Boaz gave from his harvest, but Jesus gives from His own life, His righteousness, His Spirit, His joy.
Jesus gives without fear of loss. Boaz risked losing grain but still gave, but Jesus cannot lose anything by giving for His resources are infinite. Jesus gives even when we expect nothing. Ruth and Naomi expected scraps. But Jesus delights to give “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over.”
So today, stop expecting the bare minimum. Stop bracing for disappointment. Stop assuming God will give you “just enough to survive.” Will you lift your eyes to the Redeemer who gives more than enough? To you, the weary parent who feels like you’re running on fumes, Jesus gives strength for today and hope for tomorrow. To you, the spouse who feels unseen, Jesus gives love that never fails. To you, the one who feels stuck in endless striving, Jesus gives rest that no paycheck can buy. To you, the believer who feels dry and numb, Jesus gives living water that never runs out. And to you, the sinner who feels ashamed, Jesus gives mercy that covers every failure.
Come now with your empty hands, your small faith, and your weary heart. And receive the overflowing grace of Jesus, the Redeemer who delights to give you more than enough.
Pastor Josh Gerber |
