Then she said, "Behold, your
sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your
sister-in-law." But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or turn
back 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. Where you
die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and
worse, if anything but death parts you and me." When she saw that she was
determined to go with her, she said no more to her.
Go back to your
gods. Do you have other gods? What about your relationship to your money,
possessions we loosely refer to as “stuff”, sports teams, television shows,
movie idols?
Ruth had such a
fine example of God’s love in Naomi who loved her as a daughter. Ruth must have
loved and respected Naomi deeply to have wanted to adopt Naomi’s homeland and
her God as her own. Where you go, I will
go…. Trust. Ruth didn’t know what it would be like to live in a different
culture like that of Bethlehem, a Hebrew community with no other Moabites, but
she trusted Naomi and what she already knew about Naomi’s God. She was devoted
to Naomi. Among the definitions of devotion in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary
is: the fact or state of being ardently dedicated and loyal.
That describes Ruth’s attachment to Naomi—passionate commitment. Do you have
such a commitment to anyone? That is the type of commitment that spouses need
to have to each other for their marriages to be successful. Where you live, I will live; and your family
and friends will be my family and friends…. People should want to live with
their spouses—and not expect them to give up their relationships with family or
friends. I know one couple that divorced because they just couldn’t settle on a
geographical area in which to live. Another couple limited their friends to
only those that they could both tolerate…and it was her friends, only. That
marriage didn’t last either. Where is the devotion in those relationships? It
seems to me that it is just selfish to seek only your own desires whether it is
in relationships or locations.
Where do you stand
with your devotion…to God, to your spouse, to family, to friends, to your
employer or career? Do you put God first? That is where He wants to be. Matthew
6:33 tells us, “But seek first His
kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (NASB)
The “these things” that are referred to are food, clothing, wealth discussed in
prior verses. God is what matters most in life. I have found that being devoted
to Him brings joy, peace and..surprise, more love, into my life. It is like an
endless circle. Seek God, get love. Seek love, get God. Sure there have been
times when life hasn’t been good, but God was still there with me…and He didn’t
leave or forsake me, although I may not have felt His presence continually.
Looking back, He was always there. That’s how it was for Naomi and Ruth. God
was with them as they left Moab. Do you know that God is with you, even now?
Lord,
help us to remember that You will never leave us or forsake us and that we need
to seek You first in all areas of our lives.
© 2012 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
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