It’s been an interesting few days.
I have been at the EBA Minister’s Conference, which is always a joy (for the record, I am not being sarcastic). It was wonderful catching up with old friends and, making some new ones along the way. The content was great. There was a good balance between the input received but also the space needed for reflection and networking. To crown it all, the cooked breakfast is always a treat!
Our Bible studies focussed on the book of Ruth which, if I am honest, was a bit of a challenge for me. I know some people have described it as their favourite book but, I have never understood why. Maybe, I have regarded it as a bit of a Mills and Boon style romance with a slight hint of naughtiness. Maybe I have felt it as unrelatable in my life and circumstances, I know it contains that famous verse;
Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.
(Ruth 1 vs. 16)
But, is that all there is to it?
Okay, Ruth is an ancestor of King David and is an ancestor of Jesus but, so are many others and they don’t get a book named after them!!!
I can remember, in the dim and distant past, doing a series on Ruth. The series was not one of my finest. In fact, I made a dogs dinner of it. I came away from it feeling that I had missed the point entirely and, from the feedback I received, the congregation hadn’t got a clue about what I was on about – but then, neither had I! Since that time, I have never dared to revisit it. It is not a memory I cherish and one that I feel a little embarrassed by.
Let’s face it, nobody likes to go back to the things that we really messed up or, is that just me?
As I attended the first talk, it was with trepidation I turned to the book of Ruth. It was the opening words that really hit me. They speak of a time that was not so glorious in the history of the people of Israel;
In the days when the judges ruled
(Ruth 1 vs. 1)
In those seven words, we are carried back to a time when the nation is caught up in a vicious cycle of
As you read the Book of Judges, you find yourself asking “don’t these people ever learn!” The words of George Santanyana ring true;
Those who do not learn from their history, are doomed to repeat it.
And that is it with the things that we mess up in life. Sometimes, we need to go back and face the embarrassment, the guilt and the shame not so that we can dwell in them but, so that we can learn from them. Our past mistakes have something to teach us. Anthony DeMello said;
Be grateful for your sins, they are carriers of grace
Although I struggle with idea of being grateful for my sins, I can see that if my mistakes bring me closer to God then, they can be carriers of grace.
Will I continue to mess up and make mistakes? Undoubtedly! But, I hope through them I will continue to grow in my relationship with God.
Will I re-visit my series on the Book of Ruth and try again? Let’s just say, the jury is still out on that one!