Sunflowers

Recently, I was driving home from a speaking engagement in Georgia on a sunny late summer day.   My path took me down a two-lane highway that wound through the North Georgia mountains.   I came around a bend, and spread out to the left of me was a field full of rows of sunflowers!  It wasn’t just a small field, either – there were almost thirty acres of gorgeous sunflowers, all in bloom.  It was breathtaking!

It didn’t just take my breath, though – all of the traffic on the highway slowed down from the 55 mph speed limit to around 25-30 mph.  I’m sure that the other drivers were also trying to take in this astonishing sight.

The sunflowers were very tall, at least 7-8 feet in height, I would guess.  Above the leafy green foliage of each stalk sat a dark face framed by a fringe of yellow petals.  Each sunflower face was turned up toward the midday sun, shining in its light.  Marvelous!

As I continued slowly past the sprawling fields, I thought about how the sunflowers’ faces track with the path of the sun so that they are always turned towards it.  “Wouldn’t it be wonderful,” I felt like the Lord was saying to me, “if all of My followers were like the sunflowers?”

My mind was then flooded with images.  I could “see” all of His followers, clothed in shining white robes and standing together in a massive group that could not be counted.   We stood shoulder to shoulder in row after row with our faces turned towards Him, beaming reflections of His glory, and with all of our eyes trained on Jesus.  Like a garden with a burgeoning crop of faith and devotion, we were all transformed into Son flowers!  Magnificent!

I know that I fail almost daily to keep my face turned towards Jesus, at least for part of the day.  There are always distractions that try to take my focus off of Him.  In addition, storms come up that can take my gaze off of Him unless I’m careful, and over the past months of difficult times, I confess that I have not been as diligently careful as I should.  I often have had my head down when I should have been looking at Him, the lifter of my head!  (Psalm 3:3)  I thank God for His mercy and grace, though.  With His help, I will be more careful in the future to keep my gaze right where it belongs – squarely on Him and only Him.

 

 

 

 

 

Ruth and Boaz Marry

This is the fourth post of a four-part series on the book of Ruth.  Today we are looking at chapter four, which you can read here if you would like.

Boaz goes to the city gate along with the elders and there he meets the guardian-kinsman who is of closer relation to Naomi and Ruth than he is himself.  They discuss the redemption of the property, which  the closer guardian-kinsman is eager to do.  However, then Boaz tells him that he would acquire Ruth as well as part of the transaction.  At that, the closer relative backs out and tells Boaz to redeem them himself.  Boaz then calls on the elders to be witnesses to the transaction and states that he is redeeming the property and taking Ruth as his wife.  The elders and other people acknowledge that they are witnesses and they speak blessings over Boaz and over Ruth.

Boaz takes Ruth as his wife and the Lord enables her to conceive.  In due time, the baby arrives, a son.  Traditionally, the first son born to a widow and her guardian-redeemer took the name of the dead man, allowing his name to carry on, so Ruth gives the baby to Naomi.  All the women of the town celebrate, proclaiming Ruth to be “better than seven sons”.

The chapter ends with the genealogy of Perez, which traces down ten generations to the birth of King David.  The genealogy of Perez of course is also part of the genealogy of Jesus, which is detailed in Matthew 1.  Traditionally, only the father of a child was acknowledged in a genealogy, but in Matthew 1 we see four mothers who are listed by name.  Ruth has the honor of being one of those women who is listed by name in the genealogy of Jesus, which stretches all the way back to Abraham.

Once more, Boaz’s role in Ruth’s life mirrors the relationship that Jesus has with us.  He is our redeemer, our friend.  He also is the bridegroom and we his people are His Bride.  He provides for Ruth and for Naomi in the same way that Jesus provides for all of our needs.

What did you take away from this chapter or from the book of Ruth?  I would love for you to join the conversation and add your comments and insights below!  Thanks for coming by!