The initial entry in Merriam Webster has Jesus listed as the reference point of "one who redeems." Yet, how does this work? How am I redeemed? What am I being redeemed from? Do I simply verbalize my love for God and Jesus? Is that enough? We can find the answers in the book of Ruth.
Ruth was a Moabite who had been married to one of Naomi's sons. The story goes that Naomi and her husband and two sons went to live in Moab because of a famine in the land of Judah. While living in Judah, one of Naomi's sons married a Moab woman named Ruth. Naomi's husband and two sons eventually die and she, Naomi, moves back to her homeland, Judah. The two daughters-in-law want to move with her, but Naomi pleads with them to go on with their lives and re-marry. One of the daughters-in-law, Orpah, leaves. The other, Ruth, refuses to go her "own way" and commits to life long loyalty to Naomi. They move back to Judah where Ruth gleans the fields after the harvesters and a man named Boaz takes notice of her. Boaz is known in the story as a kinsman-redeemer. Once Boaz sees the loyalty and love Ruth has for Naomi, he sets out to "redeem" them by buying land Naomi has put up for sale.
We see in this story how the love and commitment of one person resulted in redemption. Redemption from what? Boaz redeemed Naomi and Ruth from distress. When they moved back to Judah, Ruth had to glean the fields. In the Old Testament, God provides instructions to the Israelites in regards to harvesting. One of his provisions is that the harvesters shall not harvest every last shred of crop. They must leave some behind for those less fortunate, poor, hungry, deprived, and oppressed. The lesson is one in generosity and concern for others. So, Ruth and Naomi came back to Judah widowers and found themselves in a dire situation. Therefore, Ruth gleaned the fields after the harvesters in order to provide them sustenance. Ruth found favor in Boaz's eyes and exclaimed, "Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me- a foreigner?" [Ruth 2:10] Boaz replied, "I've been told about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband-how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done." [Ruth 2:11]
Okay, so how does all this relate to me- at this present moment in time? Well, in the New Testament, Jesus made some bold statements regarding what is needed to follow him. When Jesus made his first calling, Matthew says that, 'At once they left their nets and followed him' and ' immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.' [Mat 4: 20, 22] And famously Jesus retorts in Matthew 10: 37-39,
"Anyone who loves his father and mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."
What Ruth did was follow Jesus. Her decision to follow Naomi, leave her mother and father, and forgo her own future with a new husband is as selfless as it gets. She placed the concern of another ahead of any concern she had for herself. And this is what is required! To die to any right that we think we have to our own lives. Not literally of course, but to die to my self centered view of the world. I must look outward, not inward. I must reach out to others, not constantly wallow in self pity over my circumstances or worry about "what could have been" or "will this or that be provided" or "I must do this to ensure that I get this or that." Not at all! Jesus, in asking us to follow, is asking us to leave our comfort zone. He asks us to care as much if not more for foreigners as we do about our own family. What he is really trying to do is trample out any pride, selfishness or lasting vestiges of self preservation. This simple and beautiful story is relevant because it is real. It is just as real today as it was then. On the surface, it is a heart-warming story indeed. However, it is a story that is in "real time" for us.
Jesus is the redeemer, not was the redeemer. He redeems today and tomorrow just as he redeemed yesterday. He, as the Merriam Webster definition states, "frees us from captivity by payment of a ransom." I never knew that I was captive until I accepted my brokenness. What held me captive for over 30 years? Sin! And I, you, and all human beings will not see that until we feel the pain of existence in this world and realize the futility of "the ways of this world" to such a degree that a threshold is reached that pushes us into the realm of the spirit. Then, by the grace of God, when we turn our face to His, we receive what we have been looking for our whole lives...........a peace of mind, heart, and soul that borders on Utopia. God makes it possible for us to achieve what we want. The only catch is that we must arrive their by His means.
The oppression of this world can be overcome. When God sees, as Boaz did in Ruth, that we are living our lives for Him and not for ourselves, we become redeemed by Jesus. And just like Ruth, we are redeemed by people who God chooses to work through. We begin receiving blessings. That has been a mind blowing concept for me to understand and still is much of the time. I have always thought that to receive blessings, I must take an active part in acquiring them. Now, I see that all I have to do is "tend sheep" and they come, they just come without any self centered effort on my part! In fact, the more personal effort I put into obtaining them, the less I receive. Wow! Now that is amazing. Before I went through "the fire" of the last few years, I would have never "seen" the larger spiritual meaning of this story. Today, I see it, seek it and I yearn for it. Where I was once blind, I now see! And, we can all have our spiritual vision restored, if we just make the decision to follow!
