Then Boaz said to Ruth, ‘Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.’ Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, ‘Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?’
(Ruth 2:8-10 ESV)
There are moments in life when kindness catches us off guard. Not the expected kind that we’ve earned or can at least make sense of, but the unexpected kind. The kind that shows up when we feel undeserving. It’s the kind of kindness that makes us stop and ask, like Ruth did, “Why me?”
In Ruth 2, that question is wrapped around a beautiful Hebrew word: chen (חֵן), pronounced “khane.” It’s often translated as “favor” or “grace” and it carries the sense of finding kindness in someone’s eyes without having done anything to earn it.
Ruth is a Moabite widow, an outsider in Bethlehem with no status. All she has is loyalty to Naomi and a willingness to work. So she goes out to glean in the fields, hoping simply to survive. That’s when she encounters Boaz.
From a human standpoint, Boaz owes her nothing, but he pays attention to her. He speaks kindly to her. He ensures her safety. He provides more than she could have hoped for. In short, he shows her chen, favor that goes beyond obligation.
And Ruth knows it. Her response is not entitlement, but astonishment: “Why have I found favor in your eyes?” She recognizes immediately that what she is receiving is not something she has earned. It’s a gift. That is the very heart of chen. It’s not a reward for merit. It’s a kindness that flows from the character of the giver, not the worthiness of the receiver.
What makes Ruth’s story so powerful is that we are all standing in her place. We come to God with our own emptiness, our own outsider status, our own awareness that we don’t bring much to the table. And yet, God meets us with chen. He pays attention to us. He welcomes us. He provides for us in ways we could never have arranged on our own. And like Ruth, we ought to receive it with humility and wonder.
And then there’s Boaz. Boaz becomes an instrument of favor because he reflects the heart of God. When we understand chen, we begin to do the same. We stop asking, “What does this person deserve?” and start asking, “How can I show kindness?” We become more attentive, more generous, more willing to extend grace where it hasn’t been earned. Because that’s exactly what has been extended to us.
Today, pay attention to the many ways that God’s favor shows up in your life. Receive them with gratitude. And then, like Boaz, become a giver of favor in someone else’s story.
Prayer: Gracious God, thank You for the favor You show me, even when I don’t deserve it. Help me to recognize Your kindness in my life and to receive it with humility and gratitude. Make me attentive to those in need of kindness, and willing to extend favor freely, just as You have done for me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Alan Smith
Reprinted with permission from Alan Smith’s Thought For the Day