God’s Version of “Pay It Forward”
Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner? Ruth 2:10
Favor – The story of Ruth is the story of the effects of compassion. Ruth leaves all her security behind in order to provide for her mother-in-law. She turns her back on her family home, the possibility of marrying again, of having children and happiness in order to care for this destitute widow. Ruth exhibits compassion without expectation. Her proclamation that Naomi’s people will be her people and Naomi’s God will be her God is one of the most powerful statements of sacrificial love found in Scripture. Such compassion does not go unnoticed, by God or by men.
Boaz acts compassionately toward Ruth. He grants her special access to the crops in his field. Ruth cannot understand why this should happen. She falls on her knees before this powerful man and says, “Why have I found favor?” The Hebrew word is hen, a very important word in Scripture. The first occurrence of this word is in Genesis 6:8: Noah “found favor” in the eyes of the Lord. This is the paradigm example of hen. In fact, without this word applied to the life of Noah, none of us would be here today. Finding favor is the difference between life and death. Ruth knew it. Boaz knew it. Noah knew it. And so should we. In the midst of a story about “chance” occurrences and divine intentions, Ruth finds something that saves her life.
The lesson is not about the character of Boaz. The lesson is about the forward effects of compassion. Boaz answers Ruth’s question by telling her that he is aware of all the kindness she has shown to Naomi. Because she is compassionate without expectation toward Naomi, Boaz determines to be compassionate toward her. The lesson is that compassionate acts produce compassionate acts. The smallest act of kindness changes the dynamics of human interaction. Wherever we find compassion, we are likely to find another act of kindness. Favor is the direct result of previous unselfish compassion.
You might complain. “I’ve often been kind toward someone else and have not experienced kindness in return.” You would be right. Praise God He has chosen you to be identified with His Son whose compassionate acts toward all of us were greeted with brutality and death. Human beings might reject compassion. But God does not! Boaz shows us the way it is supposed to work. Jesus shows us the way it can work. The secret is the same. Compassion without expectation is at the heart of God. In God’s version of the movie “Pay It Forward”, acts of kindness are never forgotten. They change the face of the universe forever.
