Ambushed by grace

“So she gleaned in the field until evening and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.” (2:17)

A full day of gleaning in Boaz’s fields yielded an ephah of barley for Ruth. A quick check online said that this is equivalent to approximately 92 cups. The story gives us clues that this was an unusually good harvest, because Naomi was surprised and asked Ruth where she had worked. This bountiful harvest was possible in large part because Boaz had told his workers to let grain fall purposely for Ruth to pick up. This is a picture of grace. God multiplies our human effort and blesses us with more than is logically possible.

A few nights later, Ruth has a divine encounter with Boaz at the threshing floor. He promises to do what is right as her second closest kinsman-redeemer. Before Ruth goes away, Boaz measures out “six ephahs of barley” (3:15) for her to take home. This is six times what Ruth would have gotten if she had put in a full day’s work in the fields. She now walks home with it, having done no work at all. This is a picture of surpassing grace. God takes full divine initiative to bless us without any human effort on our part.

I have experienced both manifestations of grace in my life. It is hard to explain how that feels like. The cumulative impact has left me in awe of God’s greatness, at peace with my finiteness, and secure in uncertainty. Grace is present in every situation, and I suspect it especially enjoys lurking around the corner of crises and at rock-bottom places, waiting to surprise us in the darkest moments when we have come to the absolute end of ourselves.

May we live life with an open heart that fully experiences the delight and wonder at being ambushed by grace, again and again, in the best and worst times.