Gleaning off of another's sacrifice- Thoughts on the story of Ruth
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
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Individuals all over the world devote themselves to mining the
depths of very specific topics. From their harvest, we glean from the overflow.
The abundance. This is true about scientific topics to spiritual insights. We
reap what we have not sown. We gather from what we did not plant. We glean from
what we did not harvest. We glean from the sacrifice of others. Jesus speaking:
"I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have
labored, and you have entered into their labors." John 4:38 NKJV This
concept can be applied in some very specific ways.
Most people come into the sanctuary in the state of really just
trying to stay alive. They come from their jobs, & their every day
situations. They aren't attending worship conferences or classes or devoting
themselves to soaking in new worship. They are just coming in looking for a
fresh drink of water. Something to quench their thirsty souls. The worship
leadership needs to have earned the respect and trust of the church enough to
speak in authority to shift their hearts and minds from earthly cares to
heavenly releases. They glean from the overflow of the leadership's worship.
Same with the Word. We glean from the harvest of the speaker. Etc.
My heart's desire is that the product I produce be so full of Him
that every drop that is gleaned has the power to heal, deliver, inoculate,
defend, and bring about His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. My pursuit must
be passionate so that there is flavor throughout it all. Praying that all of
your pursuits make way for beautiful gleaning. Which in Ruth's case lead to
redemption, significance & inheritance.
Ruth 2:15-20" And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.”So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.”
We should allow people to glean what they can, when they can and not
begrudge them. Some day they may be planting and reaping but if we treat
everyone as a thief, they may never get close enough to the field to get what
they need. It is here that we must be generous. If we know who we are and whose
we are, we won’t be distraught at yielding an ephah of our crop. Who knows what
redemption is waiting?! I don’t think Boaz thought Ruth would even give him a
second glance, but in making room for her to glean, he sowed into her heart and
reaped more riches than he could ever know. He reaped love. He reaped legacy.
He reaped a lineage that lead to the Savior!
What are you gleaning from today? How can you actively yield extra
for others?
“Then she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her what she had kept back after she had been satisfied.And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one who took notice of you.”So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz.”Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he of the Lord, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!” And Naomi said to her, “This man is a relation of ours, one of our close relatives.”"
