Ruth 2:17

Let me learn from Ruth, the gleaner. As she went out to gather the ears of grain, so I must go out into the fields of prayer, meditation, the ordinances, and hearing the word to gather spiritual food. The gleaner gathers her portion ear by ear; her gains are little by little, so I must be content to search for single truths if there is no greater plenty of them.

Every ear helps to make a bundle, and every gospel lesson assists in making us wise to salvation. The gleaner keeps her eyes open; if she stumbled among the stubble in a dream, she would have no load to carry home rejoicingly in the evening. I must be watchful in religious exercises so that they do not become unprofitable to me. I fear I have lost much already—oh, that I might rightly estimate my opportunities and glean with greater diligence.

The gleaner stoops for all she finds, and so must I. High spirits criticize and object, but lowly minds glean and receive benefit. A humble heart is a great help towards profitably hearing the gospel. The engrafted, soul-saving word is not received except with meekness. A stiff back makes a bad gleaner; down, master pride, you are a vile robber, not to be endured for a moment.

What the gleaner gathers she holds: if she dropped one ear to find another, the result of her day’s work would be but scant. She is as careful to retain as to obtain, and so at last her gains are great. How often do I forget all that I hear; the second truth pushes the first out of my head, and so my reading and hearing end in much ado about nothing!

Do I properly feel the importance of storing up the truth? A hungry belly makes the gleaner wise; if there is no grain in her hand, there will be no bread on her table. She labors under the sense of necessity, and hence her tread is nimble and her grasp is firm. I have an even greater necessity; Lord, help me to feel it, that it may urge me onward to glean in fields which yield so plentiful a reward to diligence.