"Sit; I Will Be the One!"

“Then said she, Sit still, my daughter…” (Ruth 3:18)

My daughter, Leah, spends nearly two weeks every year in the Philippines. There, along with others from her church, she ministers to and with Filipino Christians in crusades and conferences. Needless to say, she has come to love the people and has many friends there. She considers them to be some of the most thoughtful, happy, and caring people she has ever met. They love to do for others, and when you are preparing to get something, or do something, they will often say, “I will be the one”; or “Sit; I will be the one.”

Volunteerism is always admired, but not always emulated. Obviously, we may not be capable of every endeavor or work to be done, but even when the job is well within our realm of expertise, it is very easy to say, “Let Jack (or Jill) do it; I have my own fish to fry.” And when the job is an especially unpleasant one, we are even less inclined to raise our hands. That’s why someone who can be counted on to step into the gaping voids of life is such a blessing to others. In Ruth’s case, she and her mother-in-law were widows, adrift in a harsh world of survival; yet Naomi was confident enough in the character of their kinsman, Boaz, to reassure her, “Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.”

And in the same way, our Heavenly Boaz, Jesus Christ, did not rest until He had finished the unimaginable task of paying the price for our redemption. “…when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb.1:3). Now, to all of those flailing around in an effort to appease God and overcome sin, He says, “Sit; I will be the One. I will be the One to take the punishment of sin, break its power in your life, and one day, deliver you from its very presence.” Make no mistake; the death of Christ was a voluntary undertaking that did not make Him a mere martyr, but, rather, the Savior of the world, because He lived to tell it. He is the One and only One!