“Restoration of the Vulnerable” is one of our five mission priorities here at Riverside, and the ancient story of Ruth gives us a concise and profound reflection on this priority. In scene after scene, we find in Ruth a steady stream of restoration for people facing all different types of vulnerability.

The characters of the story all participate in this restoration by leaning on and living from the character of God. Hesed is the word the Hebrew scriptures use to describe the perfect covenant loyalty, love, and faithfulness of God. These four chapters in Ruth read like a parable of God’s hesed, flowing from God, and embodied in the narrative.

May these four weeks of reflection on Ruth reveal our own vulnerabilities before God and open our eyes to see the vulnerable around us. May these stories compel us to seek and find restoration in the character of God, and to offer that restoration to others in tangible and transformative ways.