Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Feb/76

Contributor - Eric J. Schulze

Title - Those Significant Others

Topic - Meditation

"BLESSED BE THE LORD, WHO HAS NOT LEFT YOU THIS DAY WITHOUT NEXT OF KIN" Ruth 4: 14

In our day it may not necessarily be considered a curse if you are without a family. Not only do women find other fulfillment in life besides bearing children, but our world is so overcrowded, that we may consider it a good fortune if there are couples who cannot have children.

But there was a woman, named Naomi, for whom it was considered a blessing that she should have a family and not be left without any descendants. The other women of her village rejoiced with her that Ruth, her daughter-in-law, had a son. That meant that she would not be without next of kin in her old age, or without someone to nourish her in her latter years.

You see, there was a danger that Naomi's difficult life would be crowned by the dreadful possibility that she would have no descendants. She and her husband had left their homeland and gone to a foreign land because of a famine in Judah, where their home was originally established. Naomi had lost everything in money to a new land. And there she was also to lose her husband and two sons. The one daughter-in-law forsook her also, but Ruth felt that she wanted to remain faithful to her mother-in-law.

So they came back to Judah, Naomi and Ruth, and began life again. The greatest blessing came when Ruth married Boaz and a son was born. The book of Ruth was written for the simple purpose of relating how a non-Jewish person entered the Davidic lineage, which came about by the providence of God. The son who was born to Ruth and Boaz was to become the grandfather of David.

Receiving a new baby into a family is still a happy event, but does not happen with the same kind of celebration as it did for Naomi, because there is not the significance attached to the birth of a child as there was for Naomi. Or is it also because we try to function much more independently today - we don't seem to need each other as much. And yet this is a misunderstanding too.

It would be well for us to take stock of the significance to our lives of those who are close to us. God has given them to us with whom we share His love. Without them our lives would be noticeably different and indeed how much poorer would we be if we did not have those "significant others". Here you may think of members of your family, those with whom you work, people in your study group, or the neighbour across the road.

For all those whose lives mine touches, and who touch my life "Blessed be the Lord".

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