Backwards & Forwards
A friend recently invited me to attend a women's Bible study at her church. The women were to use study books written by Dee Brestin, which were said to be about friendship. Since I could always use some more gal-pal time, and a study about friendship sounded good, I signed up. A few weeks into the study, the author delved into the biblical story of Ruth. The author tried to make the point that Ruth, a Moabite, was the one in need of redemption, and that the redemption came in the form of Naomi (since, the author states, Naomi would have been the only believing woman Ruth would have encountered). IOW, Brestin got the story of Ruth backwards! The Horror! Naomi is the one in need of redemption, redemption she did nothing to earn. And that redemption came through the most unlikely source imaginable, a woman from a culture utterly rejected by Naomi's own people. Such a humbling thing; humble and still relevant! No matter how good we might believe ourselves to be, at some poin