Love is a Gleaning Field

Hello friends! My husband and I celebrated our anniversary this weekend, and I was reminded of this piece I had written several months ago. I pray it ministers to you as we enter the holiday season and will be surrounded by family and friends.

Smiles,  Jill

So Ruth worked alongside the women in Boaz’s fields and gathered grain with them until the end of the barley harvest. Then she continued working with them through the wheat harvest in early fsummer. And all the while she lived with her mother-in-law. (Ruth 2:23 NLT)

Pat Benetar sang “Love is a Battlefield.”  Any woman who has been in a relationship understands that true love is more than happily ever after.  True love is showing up every day to do the work. This applies to all women who have relationships in their life. And God created us to be relational creatures--especially women!

The story of Ruth and Naomi is one of the best examples of true love.  When Ruth’s husband, Mahlon, died in Moab, Ruth could have returned to her family with her mother-in-law’s blessing. Instead, she clung to Naomi and refused to leave her destitute declaring, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” (Ruth 1:16-17 NLT)

Ruth’s devotion to Naomi did not end when they returned to Judah. She did the work to provide for herself and for her mother-in-law by going to fields to gather what the workers had dropped out of their bushels. If you know the story, this is how she met Boaz who would be her future husband and family redeemer. Their son would become the grandfather of King David and the lineage would follow all the way to Jesus.

Ruth gleaned in the field to provide for her mother-in-law and herself. What can we glean from her actions? First of all, love takes commitment. Ruth clung to Naomi in desperation to remain with her. This commitment carried over into her actions when she worked in the fields every day to provide for the two of them. As a result of her commitment to Naomi, Boaz entered Ruth’s life and changed her trajectory. She always intended to care for Naomi. She was not looking for a husband. But God sent Boaz to redeem the family and bring joy to what began as a tragic situation for both women.

The second thing we can learn from Ruth and Naomi is that love can be in everyday, mundane tasks. Ruth showed love and honor to Naomi by gathering food. This was a necessary task, but when we understand Ruth’s position in society as a foreign woman, we begin to understand the level of respect she is showing when she shows up in Boaz’s field. Gleaners were poor. Women were, at this time, held in low regard. Working women were desperate. Yet, God moved in the heart of Boaz, and she found favor in his field. He encouraged his workers to be kind to her and even shared a meal with her. She, in turn, shared this meal with her beloved mother-in-law. Ruth was simply doing what was needed to keep them alive. And God blessed it. 

Finally, at the risk of using such an obvious pun, the biggest lesson we can glean from Ruth is that we reap what we sow. While she did not sow or reap in the physical sense, Ruth moved and worked to care for her mother-in-law and kept her promise by honoring her. By the end of the book, we see that Boaz has redeemed the dignity of the family, Naomi is blessed with a grandson, and Ruth is blessed by God to the point of becoming an ancestor of Jesus. When we keep our word, God sees it. When we honor commitments we have made, God blesses it.

Sometimes it feels like a battlefield, but true love is a gleaning field. These truths apply to any relationship in your life: parents, siblings, spouse, children, etc. By looking at Naomi and Ruth, we can learn that love is work, and it is worth it. Perhaps your situation feels like a battlefield.  Maybe you have a wayward child or a spouse that you cannot connect with.  Re-visit the gleaning field. Take on the heart of Ruth and serve with humility. Do the mundane, everyday tasks with love and joy. It may not change your situation, but it will alter your perspective.

Prayer:  God, thank you for the relationships in my life. Help me to be like Ruth in my commitment to those I care about. Give me the humility to complete the ordinary tasks with joy knowing that I am doing the best for my family and myself. And help me to remember that You will honor my efforts. In Jesus’ name, amen.

© Jill Cook and Unbroken & Undone Ministries.  All rights reserved.