Children and Faithfulness

Devotion: Ruth 4:13

The birth of a child, especially a child long desired, is good news. We seem to have lost that idea culturally. Children are often seen as a burden of time and finances. Decisions are made to dispose of children when the child is inconvenient. Yet, we need to remember humanity's mandate in Genesis 1:28 is to be fruitful and multiply to fill the earth and subdue it. God's plan for humanity is to have children and, therefore, children are a blessing from God.

"So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son." -Ruth 4:13 ESV

In our passage today the son of Ruth and Boaz is not merely the result of their marriage bed, but the will of the Lord. When we begin to regard children in this way it changes our attitude and our actions. If children are from the Lord, ultimately, they are to be seen as gifts and treasures. Indeed, the coming of this son, Obed, was a signal that Elimelech's line would continue and that Naomi and Ruth would fulfill the Genesis mandate.
More broadly, God provides the means for covenant faithfulness. God's own faithfulness to His covenant promises is assured throughout Ruth. God provides Naomi and Ruth (a foreigner, but one who is as faithful to the commands of YHWH as any Israelite) what they need to live and even thrive. God puts Boaz into the life of Ruth and through Ruth, Naomi, as a further means of displaying His own faithfulness to the women. The birth of Obed, then, is a sign of God's faithfulness, but even more a provision for the women and for Boaz to be faithful themselves to God.
In Jesus we see both God's faithfulness to us and God's provision for our own, albeit imperfect, faithfulness to God. Jesus, in his perfect obedience to the will of the Father, displays how a truly faithful human being lives. The Good News is that this faithfulness of Christ is not for his own benefit, but for ours. Jesus, in taking the place of sinners and becoming sin itself (see 2 Corinthians 5:21) removes our unfaithfulness and applies his own to our lives through faith. This is God's amazing faithfulness to us. What's more, in that same faith in Jesus Christ, we desire and seek to be faithful to God, His commands and His promises to us.
The Genesis mandate has not been lifted. Human beings are still called to be fruitful and multiply. Our children are a sign of God's faithfulness to us, but also a call to be faithful to him.

News for You:

• Sign-ups for our 7-week Small Group study in Galatians will take place this Sunday. If you have not signed up yet, jump in a group!
• Our annual service of repentance for Ash Wednesday will be February 14 at 6:30 p.m. at CPC Omak. This service is an invitation to enter into a season of repentance leading up to the celebration of Resurrection Sunday.