love looks

We have made it past the midpoint and we are sliding into the homestretch,

                Looking toward the weekend with loving thoughts of rest

And we are still talking about love

Again – we could look at love every February and never run out of material

Today we will be taking one last glance at the book of Ruth for ... love looks

I could not leave the book of Ruth without talking a bit more about Boaz

He is an interesting gentleman – not everyone’s pick, but interesting

Perhaps he was wealthy but 'not quite wealthy enough'

Perhaps he was not that handsome – there is no way to tell

But we do know he was older than Ruth and that he was still single

I don't know if Boaz was looking for love, waiting for love or if he was perfectly content

It is possible he might have been shunned because his mom was a former prostitute

                People will judge you by your associations and your past all the time

I cannot say with certainty that was the reason he was still single

But I am confident his past played a role in his treatment of Ruth

Boaz noticed something unique about Ruth – 

'All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character' Ruth 3:11

He likely saw some of the same qualities that he viewed growing up:

Courage, boldness & zeal – characteristics held by his mom, Rahab

Yes, his mom was Rahab, the famed harlot from the book of Joshua [Joshua 2:1, Mt. 1:5]

She was the Rahab who helped the spies when Israel got ready to lay siege to Jericho

She was a foreigner who helped God’s people and then came to live among them – just like Ruth

 

Your earliest reflections of love often shape your look of love

Yet, it does not matter the reasons which shaped Boaz’s response,

What matters is that he was able to look with love and with a heart of compassion

– on a foreigner in a strange land

He was able to look past her past and the fact that she was a poor widow

He was able to respond with kindness – to the kindness extended to him

‘The LORD bless you [Boaz replied] … this kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. And now … don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask …’ Ruth 3:10-11

Boaz understood ‘love looks with love’

And it is alright  that Boaz might not have been everyone’s favorite

Because all that matters is that he became Ruth’s favorite when he looked on her with love

 

Have a Blessed Day!

‘ Praise be to the God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves received from God.’

II Corinthians 1:3-4