Chapter 4 sees a whole lot of things turned around in a short space of time. Boaz sets into motion the promise he’d made with Ruth, he advocates on her behalf and on behalf of her family, a law is overturned, a family is restored, the memory of Elimelech is honoured, loving-kindness abounds. This restoration and redemption leads to transformation, but it comes at a cost. It’s a cost that the first kinsman redeemer was not willing or able to take on, but Boaz counted the cost and ushered in God’s redemptive power for this little family. We see another parallel with Jesus here when we speak of the cost of redemption, who was our kinsman redeemer, who advocated for us, who brought us back, restored and redeemed us and who was the only one able to meet such a demand. There will always be an invitation to us to advocate on behalf of others where we can, however we did not go first in such advocacy, Christ did. Where can we see the marks of God’s transformation and redemptive power in our lives and how can we hope for more?