The Soft Cancel
Scripture: “But Ruth said, ‘Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.'” (Ruth 1.16)
Main Point: Jesus sees those who have been quietly pushed aside and calls us to reach out to them.
Not every cancellation is dramatic. Sometimes people are simply brushed aside, neglected, dismissed—what we might call a “soft cancel.” The high school girl whose friends slowly drift away until she’s eating lunch alone. The retired man who used to be needed but now wonders if anyone misses him. The family black sheep whom everyone says is welcome, but it’s easier if he just stays away.
Ruth refused to let Naomi experience a soft cancel. Even when Naomi tried to push her away, Ruth pursued her: “Where you go I will go.” Ruth saw Naomi’s loneliness and took the first step toward restoration.
This is what Jesus calls us to do. Having received His mercy, we’re sent to those who are quietly fading from view. The teenager sitting alone in the cafeteria. The neighbor who just retired. The family member who’s disconnected. The church member who’s stopped showing up.
Jesus doesn’t want us to wait for them to come back. He leads us to take the first step—to sit down next to them, to make the phone call, to send the text, to extend the genuine invitation.
Reflection: Who in your life might be experiencing a “soft cancel”? What first step could you take this week to reach out to them?
Prayer: Lord, open my eyes to those who are being quietly pushed aside. Give me courage to take the first step toward them, just as You took the first step toward me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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