Ruth
What did Ruth have to gain by all this? Nothing, by worldly standards,
but everything, by God's standards!
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!