Sabbath 25/1/29/120
Dear Friends,
This Sabbath should see us all back safe and sound from the Passover. From all
reports it was a peaceful and fulfilling Passover. It was an opportunity for
us all to find our way and be at peace with each other. All of us should be
looking at our relationships with our brethren and our interaction in the church.
This Sabbath it might be appropriate to include this little homily on how God works behind the scenes in the church and among the people of God from our coordinator to Indonesia and Malaysia and coordinator in the Tamil work for India and Sri Lanka, Nathan Thuramanathan
Does God really care?
Many times we go through life, without sensing God is at work. We wonder whether
God matters in our daily life routine. So we speak careless words, negate promises
easily and live unexamined lives. We neglect relationships closest to us, perform
second-rate works and devalue little acts of mercy. Sometimes when the time
is hard, we wonder if God is really there. Why is this happening to me? But
the Bible gives us so many examples of how God intervenes from behind the scenes.
Some time back we had a minister of the Church of God system come to us, claiming to have members under him in India. We established that he was indeed from the Church of God system and that the other churches had accepted the church there in India. He later claimed members from Nepal and Sri Lanka. He then claimed that he needed more money for a feast in Sri Lanka for them. However, when I went there for the feast to inspect the works there on behalf of the World Conference, he was caught in his own game of deceit and the walls came tumbling down. He ruined his credibility not only with us, but had also done so with a number of other churches of God.
God deals with us all in all aspects in the church. We are all measured in how we exercise the responsibilities given to us, especially those given responsibility as officers of the church. God works in strange ways that we hardly know or understand, unless we sit down and analyse the situation.
One good story is that of Ruth, where we recover the primacy of faithful and godly obedience, in daily Christian living. The lives of Ruth, Naomi and Boaz, and the birth of their child shows us an extraordinary God at work behind the ordinary lives of His children.
You know the story of Ruth and what had happened to her husband. She followed her mother in law. One day she went to the field, as all other poor ones did to glean the wheat left behind for them, and she entered, you may say “by chance” into the field of Boaz. To the human eyes this may be an accident for her to come to Boaz field, but to God it was not accidental. Ruth’s choice of the field at random turned out to be the decisive factor for the birth of David.
When Ruth returned to her mother in law and said of the owner’s kindness. Naomi prayed, may he be blessed by the Lord who had not withdrawn His kindness to the living and the dead” (Ruth 2:20). It was only through this goodness of God that a woman in grief such as Naomi could possess that one virtue demanded from all of us. The key to the book of Ruth is that God is working in providence and we can trust him by faith. The story that runs through the book is about three characters namely, Naomi, Ruth and Boaz, acting freely in Gods design. However at the end of the story, all three characters found that every prayer of blessing was abundantly answered. The prayer of Naomi is found at Ruth 1:8-9; 2-20; the prayer of Ruth is at 1:16-18; and the prayer of Boaz at 3:10, 4:12,14. Then read the whole book of Ruth in one sitting. The story presents to the readers a God at work through providence, in answer to prayers of faith.
The book of Ruth hardly mentions anything of God being involved. However, the ultimate aim of Naomi was to get Ruth married to Boaz. Though there was a risk involved in what Naomi did, it was nevertheless a good intention by her for her daughter in law. They had a plan for the good and it could only be successful with the will of God, from behind the scenes. She planned it and prayed about it and in total confidence went to do it, yet under God’s sovereignty.
God’s children must believe in the spiritual laws, just as in the physical laws governing the universe. First let’s compare Naomi’s two daughters-in-law. Orpah and Ruth. Both wept, cried and kissed their mother in law, but only Ruth clung on to her. With that fatal kiss Orpah went back to her people and later died. On the other hand Ruth said: “Your people are my people and your God my God”. Ruth found herself in salvation history, as the grandmother of King David, from whose descendents came our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
The second contrast is between the nearer kinsman and Boaz. If you choose Ruth it will cost you some money (Ruth 4:4). You have to choose Ruth or your materialism. The nearer kinsman put his physical inheritance first. He put his physical world before the spiritual world. He later died. Boaz, on the other hand, reflected a man of grace. He was descended from the harlot Rahab of Jericho who chose the people of God over her own people and reflected faith in her decisions. She through her choice came to play a major part in the plan of God.
Boaz put God’s ways first, and he took part in Yahovah’s eternal program. We may conclude that at the end of the day, all participants received their due. Those trusting Yahovah received life, joy and eternal participation in the kingdom of God. Those not trusting Yahovah receive death and exclusion from the kingdom of God, and eventually from the pages of salvation history.
And only towards the end of the book we get to understand that the chief actor of the book is our God, Himself. Even though not explicitly mentioned God was quietly at work, preparing to establish His Kingship on earth. The opening remark in Ruth 1:6, shows that Yahovah was visiting his people in giving them food and indicates a God who works behind the scenes. The writer would not mention Yahovah explicitly again until the very end of the book. The interpretative framework is suddenly and fully provided, only with the mention of David in the last verses.
God accomplishes his kingdom through simple acts of faith through the godly choices of his people, and through the providence of his grace. Ruth’s story reminds us that God normally accomplishes His mission in the world through the daily obedience of his people. It also warns us against, that one fatal kiss, or one materialistic choice, which may remove us eternally, from our Godly heritage. Today let us examine our personal stories with reference to the biblical story of Ruth, and join her in Gods redemptive work among the nations. We must keep every promise, pay every dept, and discharge every duty entrusted to us in the work of God. Everyday we must choose God and his kingdom over self-interest. When we are faithful in all these “little things”, we can be assured that our stories match with a God who works behind the scene.
Be dedicated to the faith and show you are worthy of trust and your place in God’s plan.
Nathan
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