Living in the Spirit
November 6, 2018
Scripture Reading: Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came together, the Lord made her conceive, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.’ Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse. The women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, ‘A son has been born to Naomi.’ They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David. –Ruth 4:13-17
I grew up with two very different sized family experiences. My mother had a very small family; my father a very large one. I had two first cousins on my mother’s side; 42 on my father’s. In both cases, there was an abiding sense of relationship that one always had someone else with whom to make their journey through life. Now I am of the older generations and nephews and nieces outnumber my generation. I must confess it is hard for me to conceive of people having no relatives at least that they know, but as an active member of a church, I now have encounter many such people. Some have simply outlived all but the most distant relatives. Others for reason known and unknown have severed ties with family members. Some just come from small families. Recently I have gained greater insight regarding families from one person recently experiencing the death of her only relative and the other a small refugee family torn away from relatives, neighbors, and friends by the ravages of war. Because of my own life experiences, it is quite hard for me to wrap my head around such aloneness.
What these experiences have reinforced in me is the wonderful knowledge that I and each of those who feel so alone are all children of God and part of a great family. We who share in this knowing must realize the ramifications of our responsibilities to our siblings inherited through our relationship with God.
Prayer: Help us accept each other as Christ accepted us; teach us as sister, brother, each person to embrace. Be present, Lord, among us and Bring us to believe: we are ourselves accepted and meant to love and live*. Amen.
*Words from Help Us Accept Each Other by Fred Kaan Hymn Online Words © 1975 Hope Publishing Company see at https://www.hopepublishing.com/find-hymns-hw/hw3521.aspx