From Over Hill and Plain
One thing we can all say about Ruth is that she was loyal and dedicated in following Naomi.
But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return 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. – Ruth 1:16 ESV
Her example is the kind of loyalty that marks a good disciple of Jesus. It looks like a loyalty that will assume any risks – accepting whatever losses are called for and steadily committed to following.
Ruth’s trust in God was real and her response was an expression of faithfulness. She was turning her back on her people in Moab. She was going to stay with Naomi until death. She does not mention her god, but instead appeals to Yahweh. Makes me think of Jesus’ expression of a disciple – forsake all and if not, you cannot be my disciple.
Naomi does that – she says count the cost if you keep following me. Ruth persevered. She was not diligent one day and lazy the next. I am challenged in the same way to approach God every day. It is not the person who starts well that wins the race but the one that perseveres.
I love that God honours a gentle and quiet spirit displayed in genuine humility. I am taught once again to offer sacrificial service.
Her trust may not have been well informed, but it was real. Simeon remarks, “Her views of religion might not be clear: but it is evident that a principle of vital godliness was rooted in her heart, and powerfully operative in her life. In fact, she acted in perfect conformity with that injunction that was afterwards given by our Lord, ‘Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple’. – Leon Morris
Paul must have struggled too, especially in the first few years following his transformation. After three years he plans a trip to Jerusalem hoping to see Peter but he needed Barnabas’ help just to get in. I think he saw his loyalty but others had not the chance to see it until later.
They have all fallen away;
together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one. – Psalm 53:3
This Psalm is upsetting as it describes what happens when we are not loyal. A good word for me to heed to today as I commit and persevere today in being loyal to following Jesus.
Disciple 