I have mentioned before that Adam and I are in the process of reading the Bible through in a year. Both of us have read through the Bible before, but doing it a the same time keeps us accountable and allows us to share new truths as we learn them. Today's schedule brought us to the book of Ruth. I have always loved this story and the characters in them. What girl doesn't love romantic story with a beautiful ending!! There are so many important lessons in this book. We see Ruth's loyalty to Naomi, God's provision for the womens' physical needs, and Boaz's honesty when redeeming Ruth. The part that stood out to me this morning, though, is at the very end of the book, and seems rather insignificant. Naomi is enjoying the chance to cuddle her first grandchild, and the women there named the child.
Ruth 4:17 says, "The women living there said, 'Naomi has a son.' And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David."
Fast forward many years to Matthew 1:1 "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:"
God in his divine plan used Ruth, a Moabite, to be a direct ancestor to Jesus Christ! It proves once again that the Lord desires to use regular, imperfect people to be a major part of his plan. There are many other illustrations throughout scripture:
Moses - a murderer and stammerer
Rahab - a harlot
Matthew - a dishonest tax collector
These are just a few of the many "normal" people that God used to do great things!! They didn't do the work, instead they let an all-powerful God work through them and their lives! Wait a minute, I'm a regular person, and I assume that my readers are regular people. I know we all have imperfections! That must mean that God desires to do great things in and through us just like these well-known Bible characters!
How are you allowing an Almighty God to use you today??