From Devotion to Destiny - Part II
Does God Notice You?
I am sad to admit that much of my Christian life has been devoted to being noticed by people. Those called to leadership are often particularly susceptible to this. However, there is something much more important than being noticed by people: being noticed by God. Yes, you may argue that God notices every one of His children, but there are believers who somehow draw His attention in a special way.
When Ruth was working in the harvest fields, she was noticed by Boaz, the landowner. "Whose young woman is this?" Boaz asked his harvesters ( ). When Ruth caught the eye of Boaz, she wasn't doing anything especially notable she was simply performing the menial task of gleaning leftover grain.
Do you want God to take special notice of you? Do you want to catch His eye and draw His attention? Then devote yourself to the task Jesus died for: to seek and save the lost (see ). As you give yourself to the Lord's harvest field, you will be amazed to find Him drawing you to a whole new level of intimacy.
Many believers today are becoming increasingly desperate to know the Lord in a more intimate way. We travel around the country to attend conferences and renewal meetings. We read the latest books on revival. We listen to our worship CDs and hear countless sermons. But as good as these other pursuits may be, we have often neglected this important key to being noticed by God: working in His harvest fields.
A Remarkable Legacy
The account of Boaz and Ruth is a beautiful love story, portraying the amazing love of Jesus, our kinsman redeemer, who noticed us and drew us into intimacy with Himself. Yet the narrative doesn't stop there.
Instead of the story ending as Boaz and Ruth ride into the sunset and "live happily ever after," the conclusion focuses on the birth of a baby, Obed. "What is so important about that?" you may ask. "Couples have babies all the time!"
Yes, but Obed was not just any baby. He was King David's grandfather and a part of the Messianic lineage that led to the birth of Jesus many years later. Ruth, the Moabitess, had not only found a husband she had stumbled upon a role in history. Living during the lawless days of the Judges, she had dedicated herself to God and to Naomi. As she participated in the harvest, she caught the eye of Boaz and was sovereignly drawn into her destiny.
I sure wish I could find my destiny like Ruth did, you may be thinking. But it really isn't as complicated as you might imagine. Ruth's legacy of devotion culminated with this: She had a baby. In the same way, our destiny is tied to whether we succeed in reproducing the life of Christ in the lives of others. This may be our own children, but it also includes the lost people who are "born again" through our influence.
Don't Be Left Behind!
After seeing the joyous result of Ruth's faithfulness to God and Naomi, it is unfortunate that we must take one more glance at Orpah, the young woman who was left behind. While Ruth was discovering her destiny as she gleaned from the harvest fields and was noticed by Boaz, the record is silent about what happened to Orpah. Did she ever find a husband? Did she have children? Did she ever really get to know the God of the Bible, or did she cling to the pagan gods of Moab? We will never know.
Ruth and Orpah faced the same fork in the road that faces us in the American church today. The issue will not be our tears or our professions of loyalty; the issue will be whether we follow through and go to the Promised Land. Taking the road of devotion will lead us to an incredible legacy that will enrich the world for generations to come.
