The people left, and Rahab and the spies sat down opposite each other.
“Aren’t you afraid of us? If this fact gets out, we’ll die.
“I don’t know,” one of the spies asked Rahab.

“I heard rumors about you.
I have heard about your God.
My heart stopped when I heard those words.
If there was such a god, I would want to risk my life.
I'm not afraid of dying.
“Because we are already living a life worse than death.” The spies’ eyes sparkled.
(…)
The spies saw desperation in her eyes.

“If there is anything you want from us, please let us know,” Rahab said, as if she had been waiting for this moment.
“Promise me in God’s name.
“I have shown mercy to you, so please show mercy to my house.”
When the spies heard this, they immediately said:
“We will risk our lives to protect you.
The day we invade, lower the red cloth.
“Seeing that, your house will not be touched.”
First Story: Rahab_ Pages 32-34

“For a while, I was in a state of great sadness and was struggling.
I was also ashamed of my situation.
I blamed myself again and again, thinking, “If only I hadn’t gone to Moab then.”
But then I realized one thing.
That's what helped me endure it."
People wondered how Naomi endured those difficult times.

“I constantly blame and scold myself, but when I think about it, I realize that God doesn’t blame me.
God was quiet, but I was torturing myself.
I thought that was also arrogance and a sin.
From then on, I stopped torturing myself.”
Second Story: Naomi_ Page 66

'I know you.
I can see you standing there, unable to fit in with the crowd.'
The warmth I encountered for the first time.
It was the affection I had longed for so long.

'You must have been sad and lonely all this time.
I know everything.
I also know that you want to start fresh now.
So I knew that even though it hurt his pride, he wanted to meet me.
So that's why I came here.
To meet you.'

In just a few seconds.
Jesus was saying this to Zacchaeus with his eyes.
'If only one person had understood your heart.
'That one person was missing.'
'that's right.
Lord.'
'You seem full of regrets about the past.'
'yes.
I want to erase everything.'
'You want to start over?'
'sure.
Lord.'
'It's possible if I'm with you.'
Zacchaeus was about to jump down as if possessed by something, but then he realized he was on a sycamore tree.

The Third Story: Zacchaeus_ pages 119-120

“Don’t you regret following me to Bethlehem?”
“Why, Mother?”
“No one welcomes you, and they treat you like a strange person and keep you on guard.”
"Isn't God God for everyone? He is the God of the widow, and He is also the God of me, a Gentile woman who chose to believe in Him.
If you're married and living happily, and your spouse dies, does God leave you? Does He stop caring for you? Do you need qualifications to become His people? The God I came to know as my mother's daughter-in-law wasn't that kind of God.
I believe that people can make mistakes, but God cannot.
“I’m okay because I wasn’t rejected by God.”
Second Story: Naomi_ Page 64

Zacchaeus looked at Jesus again with the same feeling.

I have never seen such a bright face.
Jesus was clearly in the crowd, but at this moment, he looked at Zacchaeus with precision and warmth, as if he were the only person in the world.
As if he saw through everything about Zacchaeus.

Zacchaeus, who had been treated like a germ and filth, felt as if he had become a different person.
It felt like Jesus' gaze was washing and disinfecting everything about me.
As Zacchaeus watched Jesus suddenly approach him, crossing the line, everything he had been attached to felt like trash.
Only Jesus was considered most valuable.
At that moment, I felt confident that I could start anew.

“Look, Lord.
I will give half of my possessions to the poor.
And if I have taken anything by force from anyone, I will pay back four times as much.”
The people were more noisy.
Everyone was just bewildered by the sudden situation.
The miracle was nothing special.
Someone approaches me, crossing the line that is off-limits.
And that was the hand-holding.

---From the text