Ruth 4:17 "And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David."
What kind of person will God use? A person who is perfect? A person who is smart? A person who has great ability? That is an important question, and the answer is illustrated for us in the book of Ruth. Ultimately, the story of the book of Ruth is not about Ruth, Naomi, or Boaz; at the end of the book, you find the genealogies of the Lord Jesus Christ!
The royal line of David, from which the Messiah came, is intriguing. You find a bunch of flawed people! Pharez was a man born from a shameful relationship (Genesis 38). Boaz was a descendant of a harlot (Rahab). Ruth was a Moabitess. These were all unlikely players to be in the genealogy of King David and the Messiah who came!
God uses faithful people who are flawed, but He will not use flawed people who are not faithful. In Ruth, all the characters had pasts that were flawed, but they were faithful in the time that God granted to them. There is not an excuse for wickedness, but God will use a faithful person.
Each of us has a flawed past. If you look hard enough, you can probably find things in your life and the lives of your ancestors that are neither honoring to God nor encouraging to you. However, if you are going to serve God, you must serve Him in the time He has given you and not dwell on your flawed past. Being flawed is our nature; being faithful is by God's grace. In the daily decisions you make today, don't let your flawed past keep you from being faithful to God!
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