in the Bible and on LOST

"So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth." --Ruth 4:13-15

If any of you watch the show LOST you may be finding the connection between the island and fertility very curious!! People who conceive there seem to have trouble, but then again people who otherwise couldn't get pregnant, all the sudden are able to. Who knows what will become of this dilemma. We keep expecting Bernard and Rose to show back up with a baby on the way too. That theory is probably too far fetched even for LOST.

Still, in a similar way, throughout both the Old and New Testaments, God shows himself to be very involved in the fertility and/or infertility of women. In this passage in Ruth, "God enabled her to conceive," and her line continues all the way to Christ. Have you ever wondered about how amazing it was that both of Naomi's daughters-in-law had not become pregnant before the death of their husbands? Without birth control like we have now, it would seem like the vast majority of couples would have had babies immediately. Maybe part of Naomi's struggle with the Lord in this passage was due to the fact that she lost her husband, both of her sons, AND she had no grandchildren resulting from either of those unions to bring her fulfillment or to continue the family name. It seems rather odd that it happened this way.

Most of us probably feel somewhat, if not totally, in control of our reproductive lives, and yet passages like this indicate that the Lord is still very involved and ultimately totally in control of how many babies we produce. And because of God's holy character, we know that His plan is ALWAYS good. We may not be able to see it this way when our desires do not come to fruition the way we had hoped. Still, Naomi's story shows that God does not forget about his children. He often does things in such a way that He is brought the utmost glory.

I have seen this even in cases where couples have not been able to conceive on their own. Parents who otherwise may not have considered adoption end up raising the children God had intended to be theirs all along.

However our story plays out, it is awesome to know that every life has the mark of the Creator, and with it an inexplicable hope of things to come. This hope reflects the ultimate hope we have for heaven. Thankfully, we do not have to wait to begin enjoying eternal life. It begins when we receive Christ. It's like Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:12: "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."