Jesus Invites Us to the Feast - Encouragement for Today - February 11, 2025
Jesus Invites Us to the Feast
DORINA LAZO GILMORE-YOUNG
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“When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over.” Ruth 2:14b-c (NIV)
I’m a foodie, and the way to my heart is definitely through my stomach. I grew up in the kitchen with my mama, grandmas and aunties. My mama would let me stir ruby-red ragù and help her stuff pasta shells with ricotta cheese. Grandma Cora made me her helper when she rolled lumpia or added ingredients to her pancit. They taught me that hospitality was a pathway to love people and nourish souls.
Now, I love cooking these favorite dishes with my daughters. We frequently host friends, sports teams and neighbors at our table. We savor laughter, tears and good stories at our feasts.
In Ruth 2:14-17, Boaz generously invited the widow Ruth to feast at his table. Keep in mind Ruth’s situation: She and her mother-in-law, Naomi, left Moab because they were alone and without resources after the death of their husbands. They had grown accustomed to hunger pangs. They traveled a great distance because they heard there was a harvest in Bethlehem, which meant more food — or at least some food — for widows like them.
Ruth 2:14 tells us Ruth ate at Boaz’s table until she was satisfied: “When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over.”
She savored every morsel! Imagine the contrast. Ruth came to the field of Boaz to glean — basically to gather up scraps — but then was invited to the table with the field owner and his workers. It was not common for gleaners to be included this way. In their hierarchical society, it probably wasn’t common for the landowner to come and eat among his workers either. But Boaz was a different kind of boss.
For Ruth, this was likely at the top of her list of best meals ever. There were even leftovers to take home, along with the grain she gathered.
When we share a meal with someone — however elaborate or simple — there is an intimate and personal connection that often happens. This is why Jesus, too, often chose to minister to people at the table. He welcomed and nourished them. He turned water into fine wine at a wedding (John 2:1-11). He served bread to His friends as an example of how His body would be broken for them (Matthew 26:17-30). After He rose from the grave, He ministered to His disciples’ bodies and souls by hosting a fish fry on the beach (John 21:10-14).
Friend, like Boaz was Ruth's redeemer (Ruth 2:20), our Redeemer meets us at the table, and He has an abundance to offer us. He gives us a portion of His righteousness, love and peace. What He provides is always more than enough! Let’s not settle for the scraps when we are invited to a feast He has prepared for us.
God, thank You for being my Provider. Help me to open my eyes and heart today to Your abundant provision. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
OUR FAVORITE THINGS
Today’s devotional is adapted from the new Bible study Redeemer: God’s Lovingkindness in the Book of Ruth. Bible teacher and retreat leader Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young invites us to view the book of Ruth through a different lens — one that helps us recognize how this story proclaims God's heart for the vulnerable, including widows, orphans, immigrants, refugees and the poor. As Ruth's story unfolds, we discover that God is the main character and that He is the true Redeemer, for Ruth and for us today.
Do you ever feel like there’s just not enough — time, resources, energy or even grace? That constant sense of lack can hold us back, keeping us trapped in fear and self-reliance. Join Whitney Lowe on The Proverbs 31 Ministries Podcast as she unpacks the “scarcity mindset” and helps us see how God’s abundance can transform the way we live. After listening, you’ll learn how to shift your perspective, embrace His limitless provision, and step into the peace and freedom only He can provide. Start the episode now!
ENGAGE
Subscribe to Dorina’s weekly Glorygram for encouragement as you learn to chase God’s glory on life’s unexpected trails and cultivate your God-given gifts. Follow her on Instagram @DorinaGilmore for daily glimpses of His glory.
FOR DEEPER STUDY
John 6:9-11, “‘Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many? Jesus said, ‘Have the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish” (NIV).
The generosity of the meal provided by Boaz is a preview that points to the many instances in which Jesus invited outsiders to the table (including His feeding of the 5,000 in John 6). Jesus was known for dining with tax collectors, fishermen and marginalized women, both Jews and gentiles. He invited everyone to His table to feast on the grace served up by His Father.
What does this reveal about God’s generosity and abundance?
We’d love to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments.
© 2025 by Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
P.O. Box 3189
Matthews, NC 28106
www.Proverbs31.org
