Title There is no 'Moab Dream'
Contents
Hymns: No. 377 “Following Jesus”
Meditation: What does God want in our lives right now?
Confession of Faith: Apostles' Creed
Text: “In the days of the judges, there was a famine in the land. A man from Bethlehem in Judah, taking his wife and two sons, went to live in the region of Moab… ” (Ruth 1:1-5)
Word: Everyone, do you long for grace? What really is grace? The etymology of the word grace is ‘charis’, which means ‘pleasant or joyful’. To understand this grace better, there is a way to understand it with an event, a story. It is to realize the deep meaning contained in the story and to discover God's grace in it.
The book of Ruth is the easiest and most realistic explanation of grace in particular. The Book of Ruth is the story of a family, and at the same time, it is a book that explains what ‘grace’ is. We need to focus on the ‘grace’ of Ruth. Then we can understand God's grace more deeply.
The book of Ruth is set in the period of the Judges. The people of the period of the Judges acted according to their own thoughts and feelings. In the book of Ruth, a person who represents this time appears, and that person is Elimelech.
The meaning of the name “Elimelech” is “God is my King” However, in his pride, he leaves Bethlehem with his family without asking God for his own thoughts. Leaving Bethlehem means leaving the ground of faith and the land of blessing God has given you.
Elimelech dreamed of a Moab dream and went there hoping that everything would be fine when he went to Moab. He left the Promised Land without any regrets in order to attain physical fulfillment. As a result, he died in Moab, and his children also died. There is no such thing as a ‘Moab Dream’.
Is there a famine in your Bethlehem right now? So do you want to sneak away somewhere else? But there is no 'Moab Dream'. Nor can we dream of the ‘Moab Dream’. Looking at the field of my life, we should be able to confess, “The area that was lined up for me is in a beautiful place; indeed, my inheritance is beautiful” (Psalm 16:6). Do not avoid the difficult life situations and plant a mustard seed of ‘faith’ there. Finally, heaven will be established in them.
Prayer: Lord of love and grace, help me to live my life acknowledging that you are the only Lord in my life. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.