Saturday 18th July

You know what it’s like. You’ve had a hard day. Its been hot and tiring. And phones have been ringing. And traffic has been building up. And you’ve been late for every meeting. And you didn’t do that job you were meant to do. And the boss shouts at you. And the teacher wants a ‘quick word with you about your son’. And the car wouldn’t start. And the phone rings again. And you just want to get home. To kick your shoes off, to slump on the sofa and breathe.

 

As we come to the end of our time together in Ruth, think eleven hundred years down the line from Ruth (whose Mother in law was Rahab, the prostitute?! It was you know) to the birth of jesus. Think of all the character qualities we admire in Jesus : integrity, compassion, stickability, hard work, honor."

 

I wonder where He got that character from? Yeah of course I know ‘From His heavenly Father.’ I know ‘Because He was the Son of God’.  But you and I also know that in a very real human sense, genes and character are passed down from generation to generation. Who else do we know who had integrity, compassion, stickability, hard work, and honour … yes of course, it was Ruth.

 

Gods plans since before the beginning of time come to birth literally at the birth of Jesus. And where ? In a little town in Israel called Bethlehem. Where was Ruth from originally ? Bethlehem. Finally, eleven hundred years later she comes full circle and makes it home through her distant distant son.

Late next week I will be heading off to Guatemala & Honduras to spend some time with some street children who are dear to my heart. (For more details check out streetkidsdirect.org.uk) Now before any of you comment, I know its the region where swine flu originated, and I also know the political situation in that region is very precarious to say the least. That doesn't worry me too much either. No the concern is that it's not home. Even though I lived there for a bit, its not home. I'll be living in the poorest of communities and spending most of my days sitting in amongst squalor. I'll be eating strange food, trying to avoid catching lice whilst trying to communicate something of Gods love in a strange language. Being the best witness I can be in a place that is not home.

 

But isn't that what we do everyday ..... ? Home for us as Christians will never truly be Mendlesham or Debenham or Stowmarket or Diss or anywhere else on planet earth. Home is heaven. And one day we will come full circle like Ruth and finally make it home.

 

Never underestimate your God, and never underestimate what God wants to do through you as you make yourself available to Him. And one day He will call us home and we can finally kick off our shoes and breathe.

And then every day will still feel never-ending, but there will be no more tiredness or frustration or anguish or death or squalor or mourning or tears or pain and there will be no more 'until tomorrows' because the old order has passed away. And we will be home.