Today we read about Ruth (Ruth 1:15-18). Not the story about her being redeemed by Boaz, as you might expect, but the story of her faithfulness to her mother-in-law, Naomi. I love this story, because it shows just how God can use anyone, regardless of gender, age, or nationality, to do His work. Here was Ruth, a stranger to the Israelites, a foreigner who had worshipped false gods, and yet she came to have faith in the One, True God, followed His will, and ended being the great-grandmother of Israel’s greatest king, and an ancestor of the Messiah! Even though Ruth is one of the Bible’s shorter books, it’s quite a story of faithfulness and redemption, and lays the groundwork for some very important members of Jesus’ family tree.