Fierce Love for the Father - Ruth

Several years ago, I knew a dear old couple who had been married for nearly 60 years. They were such a picture of love and commitment. The wife had been very ill, but unexpectedly the husband passed very quickly from cancer. About two weeks after his death, the wife was sleeping peacefully and woke up calling her husband's name, as if she was talking directly to him, then she passed away. She could stand this world no longer without her other half. Her last word was his name and perhaps she saw him calling her from the other side of eternity.

This sweet couple's love and devotion to one another reminds me of a beautiful passage in the book of Ruth. Naomi is trying to convince Ruth and her sister-in-law to return to their families after their husbands had died and Naomi was returning to Israel. Ruth responds with unparalleled commitment to her mother-in-law to let her know that she was going with Ruth no matter what.

And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. Ruth 1:16-17

There is much that could be said for the book of Ruth. It is a beautiful story of humble people who follow Godly principles during a time described as "everyone did what was right in his own eyes" and end up having a great-grandson chosen as King by the Lord. Additionally, it portrays as story of a Gentile Bride being saved by the Kinsman Redeemer! The story of this Moabite woman's faith is definitely worthy of our intense examination.

Today I want to compare Ruth's love and commitment for Naomi with our love for Jesus. For years I have thought there are no better verses in the Bible that demonstrate how we should passionately love our Savior as Ruth's declaration of love for her mother-in-law. Verse 16 begins by Ruth begging Naomi not to make her leave her. I perceive a tone of desperation in these sentences. "Please don't make me leave. I have to be with you."

There is a beautiful Selah song (I Don't Want to Go) that exemplifies this feeling toward Christ. It says, "I don't want to go somewhere, if I know that You're not there, cause I know that me without You is a lie... My heart needs to be where you are. So, I don't want to go." This is my plea, "Please, Jesus, don't ever leave me alone. I need you so much I cannot imagine life without You."

"for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge" This must have been much comfort for Naomi to hear these words, for she had no children to help take care of her and she was older. At the same time, Ruth had no idea what would behold her in Israel. There were no guarantees of anything waiting for them.

This is how I believe we have to view our walk with the Lord. The Lord is sufficient; things of this world can never fully sustain us. If we try to put our confidence and hope in things of the world (money, people, positions), it is likely we will be highly disappointed. Things of this world are not sufficient to fulfill the needs of our heart. At times the Lord asks us to follow Him in something that doesn't make any sense, asks us to do things we are not comfortable doing, and yet that is where He is and where our greatest blessing lies. I pray that we might grow deeply in our faith so that we respond with confidence in Him to follow His leading... whither He goest.

"thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:" Ruth traded the people (and family) of the pagan world she lived in for a hope of living with the people of God. There were no promises of acceptance for her as a foreigner or a life of ease or comfort; there was only the hope of living aligned with the will of the true God.

Often as Christians we have similar choices to make regarding the people in our lives. Do we release the friendships we once held because they are still aligning with the world or do we plant our hearts fully in Jesus and let Him weed out the people that ought not be there? And the Lord calls each of us to scriptural baptism and membership into a church. What do we do when a member of our church family offends us? It is much easier to move churches or stop going to church when you get hurt, than it is to face the issues within yourself and with other people. It is truly a matter that requires faith to believe that the Lord places you where He wants you and refuse to waiver when times get tough. Ruth was anchored mentally to the fact that the people of God would become her people.

"Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried:" Ruth professed that she was committed for life; there was no option of returning for her. Sisters, should we view our love and commitment to God as anything but a life-long journey? I have known those who gave up before the race was finished and returned to the world for their source of contentment. Surely Ruth had barely tasted of the goodness of God but was probably all too familiar with the evils of her pagan society. Let us not forget the goodness we have received from the Lord and tenaciously hold onto Jesus through all the good and bad moments of life.

"The Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me." One could think this statement a bit dramatic. In fact, I'm certain that it is only by the Lord's help that I don't go off the rails and I would think twice about making such a statement. But here is Ruth, so committed to Naomi that she says, let God kill me if anything I am promising isn't true.

Are we so desperate for God that we beg Him to allow us to follow Him? Or do we think that somehow, we are righteous by our works, or that God needs us because of what we do for Him? I believe that there cannot be a better posture for our lives before God than the one demonstrated by Ruth. She totally hitched her wagon to the people of God for life, regardless of what that might bring. There was no room for anything else in her mind. She begged to go to the land where the true God reigned and promised to always serve there whatever the cost. I think if we could truly know the depravity of our hearts and the goodness of God's we would assume this posture immediately and beg the Lord to let us remain with Him.