Daily reflection _ Ruth

Ruth
What did Ruth have to gain by all this? Nothing, by worldly standards, but everything, by God's standards!
Deacon John Ruscheinsky
Find 5 or 10 minutes today to read all of this delightful gem from the Old Testament - the four chapters of the book of Ruth. This narrative is set in the same time frame as the preceding book of Judges. In search of fertile land, Elimelech and Naomi moved west with their sons from their home in Bethlehem to the pagan country of Moab. After the death of her husband and sons, Naomi prepares to return to her home country, and is surprised when her daughter-in-law Ruth "clings" to her and insists "Wherever you go, I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge, your people shall be my people, and your God my God!"
Ruth had received the gift of faith - in accepting the gift, she gave up all her security (her own country, people, friends, family, home and pagan faith) to stay with Naomi, an impoverished foreign widow. What did Ruth have to gain by all this? Nothing, by worldly standards, but everything, by God's standards! What do you and I have to gain by making a more radical commitment to our faith? The answer is the same!