So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.
— Ruth 2:23
To know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.
— Philippians 3:10
The more we are filled in spirit, the more the Spirit saturates us; the more we are enlivened, the more we have the ability to say, “I die with Christ.” Chapter two concludes with Ruth harvesting not barley, but wheat. The wheat harvest concludes with the Feast of Tabernacles, or Booths. In other words, as we advance in this stage, we have a testimony that our life is within the tent. We are not of this world. We belong to Christ alone. No one can say how long the experience of the Lord’s death in us is required. One day, however, the Lord will gather everything together.
Resurrection has already been accomplished by Christ, but the outworking of His death in us is for our lifelong experience. Some progress quickly, others slowly. There was a specific time in our life when we partook of Christ’s resurrection, but as to experiencing His death, we all are still on the way. The Lord just tells us we must grow. Nobody can grow for you. You yourself must enter into this process and complete it. One day the Lord will gather all, and that is the Feast of Ingathering, the Feast of Tabernacles.
Adapted from Ruth: Growth Unto Maturity, pages 44-45.
Tomorrow: “Let Us Go Unto the House of Jehovah!”