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2 Cor. 6
What would it mean to “receive God’s grace in vain” (v. 1)? Have you ever done that? There were people in the Corinthian church who were trying to discredit Paul. Paul countered that by saying that he brought nothing to the table that was from himself. Rather, he brought only what had been given to him by God. Therefore it wasn’t about accepting or rejecting Paul. It was about the truth of God’s message of reconciliation to Him through Jesus Christ, which Paul presented to them.
I don’t know exactly what Paul meant by telling the Corinthians “not to receive God’s grace in vain”. But I see Paul encouraging the Corinthians to understand that the gospel of Jesus Christ is all that really matters. That gospel should change those who receive it so that we no longer act like humans, but strive instead to act like Christ. Part of that process is to fellowship, with open hearts, with those who are doing the same. Instead, the Corinthians were yoking themselves with those of human thought and closing their hearts to those who so openly and sincerely set themselves aside in every way in order to point them to God.
So what is the point in receiving God’s grace if we don’t allow it to take over every aspect of our way of being? We cannot be made new so long as we cling to the old. Instead, let’s cut ties with the world and its ways, except to be ambassadors of God’s grace.
Ruth 1-4
Why is this lovely story in the Bible? (See 4:18-22 and Matthew 1:1-6). What does that tell you about the gospel? Where is God active in this story? In your story? It is no accident that this beautiful story immediately follows the horrific book of Judges. Remember, Judges ended with the statement, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.” (Jud. 21:25). That book showed the hopeless situation of humanity left to its own efforts. But now, “In the days when the judges ruled,” (Ruth 1:1a), we see something different. We see hopelessness transformed into a hope that leads to redemption. The story tells us that when we were at our worst, God had a plan to provide a Redeemer for us, to give us hope and a new life.
And it gets better. As this remarkable story reveals this truth, it unfolds the next layer of God’s plan, because it is through Ruth and Boaz that God provided a king for Israel. Not just any king, mind you. Ruth and Boaz are the great grandparents of King David, who is the representation and the direct ancestor of Jesus Christ, the True King of Kings and ultimate Redeemer.