by Rev. Adam Demetros
There’s a wonderful old love story about three people by the names of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz, whose lives are providentially intertwined by grace and redemptive community. As the story goes, Naomi moves to a new town with her husband and two sons so that they can start a new life together. Her sons marry local women (Ruth being one of them) and the whole family lived happily for a while, but then tragedy struck. Naomi’s husband and sons die, leaving Naomi and her daughters-in-law with nothing. Finding themselves in such a difficult situation, one daughter-in-law decides to move back in with her family, but Ruth refuses to leave Naomi to fend for herself. Low on resources, but high on anxiety, Naomi and Ruth decide to make the long journey back to Naomi’s hometown, hoping that someone would recognize her and be gracious to them. Shortly after their arrival, Ruth catches the eye of a distant relative of Naomi by the name of Boaz, who happens to be wealthy. And like any good love story, the two fall deeply in love, get married, and have a baby. And Naomi, who lost everything in the beginning of the story, gains everything she lost and more.
This is the type of love story that we all hope for in our lives. It’s the type of story that we read about is fantasy novels and watch on the silver screen in darkened movie theaters, but the plot device that actually drives this story is not just love, but the giving and receiving of grace. The cycle of giving and receiving grace starts in the very beginning with Naomi being gracious enough to take care of her daughters-in-law after their husbands died, even though she didn’t have much to give. Then it continues with Ruth being gracious to Naomi, even though she wasn’t obligated to do so. Then the cycle widens when, in response, Boaz is gracious to Ruth when he promises to take care of her and Naomi. As a result of this promise, Ruth and Boaz get married and have a baby. And by the grace of God, Naomi, who started the story by losing her husband, sons, money and community, ends up receiving a devoted daughter-in-law, a wealthy son-in-law, a grandson, and a place to call home. It’s truly a grace-filled story.
Out of all of the experts and resources available that claim to know the best way to grow the ideal community of respectful citizens and the countless books on community development, it’s stories like this one that provide the most effective blueprint on how to build a healthy community. Furthermore, this is how a diverse collective of people becomes a united purposeful community — by recognizing just how much grace they have received. And if we have actually taken account of just how much grace we have received, then we can’t help but be gracious to the people around us out of gratitude. This, in the church world, is what we call redemptive community, and it’s a truly beautiful thing. It’s through redemptive community that you are welcomed back home regardless of what you have done or left undone. It’s through redemptive community that you can find rest after all of your hopes and dreams in life have fallen to pieces. And it’s through redemptive community that you find hope for tomorrow. We all enjoy a good love story, but what we really need more of these days are grace stories.
There’s a wonderful old love story about three people by the names of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz, whose lives are providentially intertwined by grace and redemptive community. As the story goes, Naomi moves to a new town with her husband and two sons so that they can start a new life together. Her sons marry local women (Ruth being one of them) and the whole family lived happily for a while, but then tragedy struck. Naomi’s husband and sons die, leaving Naomi and her daughters-in-law with nothing. Finding themselves in such a difficult situation, one daughter-in-law decides to move back in with her family, but Ruth refuses to leave Naomi to fend for herself. Low on resources, but high on anxiety, Naomi and Ruth decide to make the long journey back to Naomi’s hometown, hoping that someone would recognize her and be gracious to them. Shortly after their arrival, Ruth catches the eye of a distant relative of Naomi by the name of Boaz, who happens to be wealthy. And like any good love story, the two fall deeply in love, get married, and have a baby. And Naomi, who lost everything in the beginning of the story, gains everything she lost and more.
This is the type of love story that we all hope for in our lives. It’s the type of story that we read about is fantasy novels and watch on the silver screen in darkened movie theaters, but the plot device that actually drives this story is not just love, but the giving and receiving of grace. The cycle of giving and receiving grace starts in the very beginning with Naomi being gracious enough to take care of her daughters-in-law after their husbands died, even though she didn’t have much to give. Then it continues with Ruth being gracious to Naomi, even though she wasn’t obligated to do so. Then the cycle widens when, in response, Boaz is gracious to Ruth when he promises to take care of her and Naomi. As a result of this promise, Ruth and Boaz get married and have a baby. And by the grace of God, Naomi, who started the story by losing her husband, sons, money and community, ends up receiving a devoted daughter-in-law, a wealthy son-in-law, a grandson, and a place to call home. It’s truly a grace-filled story.
Out of all of the experts and resources available that claim to know the best way to grow the ideal community of respectful citizens and the countless books on community development, it’s stories like this one that provide the most effective blueprint on how to build a healthy community. Furthermore, this is how a diverse collective of people becomes a united purposeful community — by recognizing just how much grace they have received. And if we have actually taken account of just how much grace we have received, then we can’t help but be gracious to the people around us out of gratitude. This, in the church world, is what we call redemptive community, and it’s a truly beautiful thing. It’s through redemptive community that you are welcomed back home regardless of what you have done or left undone. It’s through redemptive community that you can find rest after all of your hopes and dreams in life have fallen to pieces. And it’s through redemptive community that you find hope for tomorrow. We all enjoy a good love story, but what we really need more of these days are grace stories.
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