The importance of journeys

Huw Williams | 07:37, Friday 14 May, 2012 | Turin, Italy

If you've read The Lord of the Rings (or even if you’ve only seen the movie) you'll remember the bit right at the end, when Frodo returns home to The Shire; he's glad to be back, he's glad the quest is over, but he's not the same. He has seen extraordinary things, and he cannot simply forget them and return to his old life as though the events of his travels had never happened. His journey has changed him.

As we've been planning our visit to the UK this August, I've been trying to imagine what it will be like to return to those places where we used to live before our Italian adventure, to meet old friends, and so on (but it's not as though I feel as though we've been to Mount Doom and back, you understand).

We're studying the Bible book of Ruth here at the International Church in Turin, and we've discovered that Naomi goes on quite a journey too. In chapter 1 we saw her and her family turning away from God for Moab, and returning at the end of that chapter full of the language of bitterness and anger. By the end of chapter 2 she is speaking blessings. At the end of chapter 3, she is the voice of hope. And at the end of chapter 4, she is silent. She quietly cradles a new baby on her lap. She has nothing more to say. She is content, satisfied in the blessings, provision and care of the good God who redeems through the birth of a son.

Let's follow Naomi in that journey all the way to satisfaction and rest in the redeeming God of the Bible.