Hospitality Defined: Practical Love in Service to GodNäide

Hospitality and Generosity

And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. (v. 14)

Up to this point in the book of Ruth, things have not been going well for our heroine. Ruth’s husband has died, as have his brother and father. She and Naomi, her mother-in-law, have been left with nothing in her homeland of Moab. Instead of returning to her father’s home, Ruth has clung to Naomi, supporting her in her trip back to Bethlehem in Israel. They are destitute widows with no money and little to eat. Their future certainly looks bleak.

God provides for these women through the generosity of a landowner named Boaz. Ruth comes to his fields during the harvest, hoping to glean the grain the reapers leave behind. When Boaz asks about her, he discovers that Ruth is the Moabite daughter-in-law caring for his kinswoman, Naomi. Realizing her poverty, Boaz takes several steps to give her protection and hospitality. She is invited to sit at the table with the harvesters and eat her fill. Boaz tells his people to watch over her and leave grain on purpose for her to glean. His generosity goes far beyond what is expected for a poor, foreign stranger.

This spirit of generosity goes hand in hand with true hospitality. As we love others and open our homes to them, we need to remember “to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share” (1 Tim. 6:18). Let’s follow Boaz’s example of hospitality with a generous spirit.

As you pray, ask God to give you a generous spirit.