A Relentless Commitment
Ruth 1:16The key central message in the story in the book of Ruth is that of Redemption. There are many other key lessons we can consider from this story.
An important lesson that I want to share with you here is the signficance of Ruth's relentless commitment to her Mother in Law Naomi. I believe this mirrors a Christian's relationship to Christ. I will explain later in this post.
The Crisis
Naomi is an Israelite and due to a famine in Israel her husband decides to take the family into another country Moab. While in Moab Naomi's two sons Mahlon and Chilion marry two Moabite women named Orpah and Ruth. Naomi's husband Elimelech dies. After living in Moab about 10 years both her sons die leaving her and her two daughters-in-law widowed.
The Commitment
Naomi decides to return to Israel (Bethlehem) because she heard that the famine is over. Both Orpah and Ruth try to follow Naomi back, but Naomi strongly urges them to stay in Moab where they have hope of finding another husband. Naomi believes that following her would be a dead end for both of her daughters-in-law. So Orpah decides to stay in Moab, but in spite of Naomi's insistence to stay Ruth overides it. Ruth says in verse 16-17:
Do not persuade me to leave you or go back and not follow you, for wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord do this to me and even more, if anything but death separates you and me.
Why would Ruth say all this? I think that the reason is that she simply LOVED Naomi. Love without commitment is a LIE. Love will always prompt a dedication/devotion toward that which we love. In essence Ruth is telling Naomi that she is embracing everything that Naomi is. She will embrace Naomi's problems, her present, her future, her people and YES, her God! The one thing that Love cannot stand is the idea of separation! So Ruth is willing to make any adjustment to accommodate Naomi simply because she does not want to be separated from Naomi. Keep in mind that Ruth has no idea what the future holds, and Naomi has made no promises of a bright future, but whatever the future Ruth wants it to include Naomi.
The Connection
We can connect this with the many kinds of relationships in our lives from marriage, to family, to friendships. However, I want to point out that this is the kind of commitment Christ is looking for. Luke 9:23 Jesus says "If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me." Jesus wants a commitment like Ruth to Naomi where we embrace all that Jesus is and cling to Him. WE cannot go where Jesus is and stay where we are! We must be willing to change and make adjustments to Him to accommodate Him. We tend to get this backwards. We may follow as long as He changes and accommodates us, but it simply does not work that way. Our desire for Jesus must be a high priority.
Jesus told a parable about a man who stumbled upon a treasure hid in a field. He sold everything he had to buy the field. He did this because he knew there was a lot more to gain from that field. It is important to note here that he was not pursuing the field but the treasure he found in the field. Through purchasing he was acquiring the treasure. I think that Ruth left her home (everything she had) to pursue Naomi because she had a treasure in that relationship that she would not have back home. She gave up everything so that she could be with Naomi, but I don't think she saw it as a sacrifice but a bargain. In the end Ruth got a lot more than she could have imagined.
The kingdom of heaven is made up of people who treasure Jesus and who give up everything to pursue Him. Such people will see Jesus hid in the field of the church. They will discover Jesus hid in the field of the Bible. They will also find Him hid in the field of prayer. Finally they will see Jesus hid in the field of serving others. A simple observer on the outside will wonder why these people are involved in seemingly unimpressive things like the church, prayer, bible study, or service. The reason for this is they have discovered a great treasure (Jesus) in that field that they love and must have.
Why would we commit to Jesus? Simply because we love Him!
