Behind The Scenes
Ruth 2:19-20 (NLT)
So Ruth told her mother-in-law about the man in whose field she had worked. She said, ‘The man I worked with today is named Boaz.’ ’May the Lord bless him!’ Naomi told her daughter-in-law. ‘He is showing his kindness to us as well as to your dead husband. That man is one of our closest relatives, one of our family redeemers.’
One of my favourite things is when you’re sad that you’ve finished a TV series, and then you discover they’ve made a behind the scenes episode! You get more of the show you love, and you get to find out so much more about the programme and how it all came together. I love when they reveal how clever and crafted the whole storyline is and that you missed a whole lot of details (which I normally view as an excuse to rewatch the whole series).
The book of Ruth would lead to an excellent behind the scenes episode.
The series itself would feature three main characters, Naomi, Ruth and Boaz, but the behind-the-scenes episode would revolve around the creator/writer/director/producer, God. You’d come away from the episode with a deep sense of awe at the creative genius behind the series, noticing details you’d missed, and realising that clearly someone had to be behind a story this stunning.
Interestingly God is so behind the scenes that the narrator of the book never once mentions God doing something directly. This to me is what makes the book of Ruth so beautiful. God is so clearly at work behind every scene of the story, weaving together the characters’ lives and choices, and yet as we read it, we can easily forget he’s there.
I’m sure Ruth and Naomi would have had moments, sat and questioned whether God was still there and still working. All of us experience this uncertainty, but Ruth and Naomi’s story reminds us that God never leaves and never stops.
We all love the moments when we clearly perceive God as the main character active in our life-story, but there’s a hidden beauty found when we understand that he is always there behind the scenes, whether we realise it or not.
Prayer — God thank you that you never leave. I call to mind situations where I’m not sure where you are. Help me to remember you’re always working, even if I don’t see what you’re doing.